The Old Cry for Help
by little.miss.sarcasm
Summary: complete:: Under major reconstruction. Check the new The Cry for Help story!
1. Trailer

**The Cry for Help**

**Maybe he wasn't perfect…**

_Troy slips down his bedroom door and cries quietly._

**Maybe he needed help…**

_Troy screams and Mr. Bolton shuts the door loudly._

**I just wasn't paying attention, I guess…**

_Troy walks up to Gabriella who was talking to Taylor._

**Troy:** Gabi, can I-uh- talk to you for a second?

**Gabriella:** Can it wait for a minute? Taylor and I have to go back to the science lab.

_She walks away leaving Troy alone._

**Troy:** (sighs) Sure.

**Because something was wrong…**

**Gabriella: **Ignorance may be bliss, Troy, but at some point you're going to have to face the facts and realize that it'll only get worse the longer you wait… and the worse it gets, the harder it'll be to let go.

**Why I didn't realize it before is why beyond me…**

_Chad looks at Troy and mutters something we can't hear._

**Troy: **Chad, it's not his fault.

**Chad: **Then whose is it, Troy?

**Troy: **…It's mine.

**I should've done something… I should've tried.**

**Troy: **But I can't tell!

**Gabriella: **And why not, Troy? I mean, why do you do this to yourself?

**Troy: **I do it for you.

**He needed help… and we just sat and watched.**

_Chad looks through the door and sees Mr. Bolton punch Troy in the jaw. He lets out a loud gasp and slides into the darkness, letting the events unfold._

**We were the worst friends ever because we couldn't see his pain.**

**Troy: **I don't believe in happy endings.

**Gabriella: **Why not?

**Troy: **Because I never got one.

**Some of us turned on him…**

**Taylor: **It just seems like such an act by now!

**Gabriella: **What?

**Taylor: **Oh come on, you know that Troy is just searching for attention.

**Some just didn't try…**

**Chad: **We need to help him!

**Jason: **So what are we supposed to do?

**Chad: **Try.

**Some of us never listened to…**

**The Cry for Help.**

**Coming soon.**


	2. Chapter One: Raining Dread

**Chapter 1: Raining Dread**

Rain fell in a white sheet that day. The thunder rumbled loudly showing no hope of ceasing or quieting down. Lightning flashed brilliantly for a brief moment before disappearing and leaving the world in an endless black night. Rain drops swirled lazily yet quickly from their billowing, dark clouds and dropped into puddles before leaping out like scared crickets and bouncing back down, sending lazy ripples across the black depths of the puddle.

The scene looked like a desperate cry for trouble, like the weather and its murky clouds wished for bad to happen; the sky swirled in anger and a raging flash of lightning brightened it before letting it pommel into infinite darkness. But nonetheless, Troy Bolton wished the storm would never end.

It showed a power that enthralled Troy. It controlled how people could come and go or how many lives it could ruin with one bolt of lightning or one unforeseen flashflood. Troy felt powerless against the storm but he knew it couldn't stop.

But he could hardly stop what was haunting him then, either.

He started a fire in the fireplace and let its illuminate the room, casting and orange glow to cover a surface. The light licked his features and sent a warm wave of light on his battered body and his handsome face. The light flickered and fell onto the wooden coffee table, reflecting off a sheet of dust-covered glass that preserved a photo, a memory, one Tory no longer cherished but instead cursed and tossed into the flames.

The scene reflected into his dazzling blue eyes, ones that were darkened by interminable pain and fear. An angry monster clawed at his stomach, growling and fighting to escape. Troy let the feelings of hopelessness and pain overtake his body until he felt he would surely pass out from his grievance.

A strong emotion of hurt twisted through him until his cruel curiosity pushed him to look upon himself in the mirror. He gently peeled his shirt off of his back and let the firelight, the only source of light in the room, show his pain. Troy's eyes flashed with horror as bruises blotched his very body. They spotted his torso much like a stain did a blanket: bleeding out, spreading far, and randomly grouped covering his chest and back.

Troy let out a shuddering cry and turned away from the mirror. He shook his head, letting loose a few tears. Quickly, he wiped them away, ashamed for being so weak. Weakness was what had gotten him into this mess; he wasn't going to let it control him.

Troy turned to leave his confinement, trapped in walls of his own house. Still, tear tears rolled down his cheeks. Ashamed of his very being, he let out a sob of rage and looked in the doorway to find it occupied by a dark, looming figure that slouched against the frame of the door. Troy stumbled backwards, searching desperately for something to help him. The figure chuckled cruelly.

"Troy," It cooed. "Why so jumpy?"

It stepped from its spot in the shadows and let its face get illuminated by the soft, orange firelight. It looked weary, as if all will to live had been sucked out of it. Its face was deeply lined, its eyes sunken and dark. Its hair was knotted and unkempt; its mere appearance disheveled.

It… was Troy's father.

"I'm not," Troy said. He felt his back hit the wall, its coldness radiating through him, chilling him to the bone and numbing his hardly responsive limbs. Troy's fingers fumbled as he tired, shaking, to pull his tee- shirt over his head.

"Don't put it on," Jack said, stepping further into the light. "Turn around and look… Go ahead, Troy. Look at yourself."

It took all of Troy's might to force himself to look back in the mirror. He moved painfully slow, delaying his reflected fate. It looked worse with his father watching his every move. Jack walked over and clamped his hand on Troy's injured shoulder. He forced Troy to look him in the eyes and said hoarsely, "That isn't my fault, Troy… it's yours."

Troy nodded in horror and winced as his father tightened his metallic grip. Jack leaned in and whispered menacingly, "Toughen up, pansy… or it's just going to get worse."

He let go of Troy's shoulder with a force that cause Troy to falter backwards. Jack stumbled out of the room and disappeared up the creaking stairs. Troy didn't even bother putting a shirt on before he collapsed onto the couch, shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs.

It was well past midnight and Troy laid wide awake in the heart of night watching the gleaming embers of the fire fizz down to sparks of red flames. The logs crackled and snapped as it broke and rotted, hitting the grate with a clang. He sat silently on the hearth and waited for sleep to enter his restless mind. Troy put a hand up to wipe a lone tear off of his cheek but stopped, letting it glide down his flawless face like hot wax. He looked into the depths of the fading embers gravely before crying himself to sleep.

----

Sun streamed through the window and poked Troy hard in the eyes. He rolled over to escaped the blinding rays but only succeeded in hitting his head on the coffee table. He moaned and brought his hand to his throbbing head, not opening his eyes. Suddenly, Troy received a sharp kick to the side and accidentally let a moan escape his lips. He felt another hard jab at his rib cage but bit his bottom lip, trying ineffectively not to scream. Troy rolled over and saw his dad looming over him, his body shrouded in early morning shadows.

"Wake up, you worthless piece of trash!" Jack shouted. "Wake up!"

Troy scrambled to stand next to his father but all the while, never letting their eyes connect. Troy glanced at the mahogany clock on the mantle that read three o' clock in the morning which, even for someone who was constantly training in the morning, very early… even for someone who _wasn't _constantly training in the morning, it was early.

"Go get dressed," Mr. Bolton demanded. "Meet me outside in five minutes. Hurry up!"

Troy ran to his room and searched for clothes to wear. Finally, he found a pair of red shorts and a white tee shirt and pulled them on. He galloped down the stairs with difficulty, trying to stuff his feet into a pair of shoes on the way. He skidded to a halt in front of his dad who was standing in the middle of the lit driveway, and said, "I'm ready."

"You look disgusting, Troy," Mr. Bolton sneered. "You didn't brush your teeth _or _your hair and I'll bet you didn't put on clean clothes."

Troy didn't argue for he knew it was true. He watched as his father paced with his hands behind his back. Troy didn't dare try to look his father in the eyes for he knew that he would find some unwanted gaze cast upon their blue depths. They were cold now, icy, and misted over, whitening the sparkling sea they used to hold. Whenever Jack was feeling particularly evil, they got a manic gleam that was enough to make anybody shiver.

Troy was snapped out of his reverie by the cutting bark of his father's voice, instructing, "I want you to run suicides for the next hour and a half. The first stop is the flowerbed, the second is the window, and the third is the end of the driveway. I'll call you when your times up and I better not see you slack off of stop. Ready? Go."

But Troy didn't move. Instead, he stared dumfounded at his father, his feet like roots in the concrete of the driveway. He shivered for even though he lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the winter had just began and it nipped at his bare arms, legs, and face mercilessly, stinging his eyes and slapping his face like a wave of icy water. Jack watched as Troy just stared at him stupidly and finally said, "Are you stupid or something? I said _go!_"

"Why?" Troy asked absolutely flummoxed.

"Because I said so!" Mr. Bolton shouted. "You want me to make it two hours?"

Troy shook his head but still didn't start his running. Jack looked flabbergasted and opened his mouth to yell but Troy cut him. He scratched the back of his head and said uncomfortably, "Dad, the season _just _started and it's three in the morning on a school day. Can't this wait until later?"

"Excuse me?" Mr. Bolton asked. He stepped so their faces were only a few inches apart. He only had about an inch of height on Troy but he had years of muscle and a whole lot of authority to even that out. "Are you _talking back _to me?"

"N-no!" Troy stuttered, backing away from his dad. "I was just-…"

"Get inside," Jack demanded through clenched teeth. "_Now_."

Troy didn't need any further encouragement. He dashed into the house and up the stairs, tripping over himself in his haste. He heard the door in the kitchen click open and slam close so he ran into the bathroom, shutting it tightly behind him. Troy heard his father's cutting yell, screaming at him to come downstairs but he paid little to no attention to it and busied himself with the shower.

He swung the glass door open with a swish and leaned far into the tile shower, letting his dirty shoes murk the bottom, and turned on the water, not caring how hot or cold the stream would be. An icy blast of water jetted out of the showerhead and slapped Troy's tattered back. He let out a yelp and jumped back out of the shower just in time to hear his father's voice outside the bathroom door, his fists pounding on the wood of the door ruthlessly.

"Troy, open the door!" He growled loudly over the water.

Troy pushed himself as far back as he could in the bathroom and shouted, "I'm showering! I'll be out in a minute!"

Jack's yells were only part way muffled by the on-going stream of water slapping the tiles. Troy watched in terror as the door slowly creaked open, the sliver of a crack revealing the tall, strong man that was his father.

He had forgotten to lock the door.

Troy dove forward in attempt to stop the swinging door but with no prevail. He cam face-to-face with his dad, his father's eyes boring deep into his own. Before Troy could let out a breath, his father had grabbed a fistful of sandy brown hair and thrown him carelessly into the hallway.

Troy hit the opposite wall with a clang as the picture frames bounced precariously on their nails. A picture fell to the ground but didn't break until Jack had made sure of it by slowly crushing it under his foot. Troy faced his father bravely and slowly and discreetly started backing his way down the hall. Jack stared at Troy and took deliberate steps toward his terrified son. Troy stuck out his hands, showing his dad his full, scratched up palms.

Before he knew it, the floor fell from behind him and folded into a set of wooden stairs with a long strip of carpet down the middle, the jutting corners unprotected from Troy's skull. He tumbled over backwards and down the wooden steps. Troy hit the landing with a crash and toppled down the last five steps. He blinked as lights blared into his eyes but suddenly dimmed as he began to slowly blackout. The last thing Troy saw was his father's darkened figure looming over him before it went black.

----

Troy awoke with a splitting headache and a gash on the side of his head that was sluggishly oozing crimson rivers of blood down the side of his face. He flipped over and found himself still on the floor by the stairs. He felt very raw and assumed he had gotten his punishment while he pummeled into the black depths of his sleep. Troy groaned and carried himself into the kitchen where his dad was reading the paper and having a breakfast of coffee and toast.

"You better get ready for school," Jack said, not looking up from his paper and taking a chomp on the darkened square of bread. "You have five minutes before I drive away from this house."

"I just won't change then," Troy decided out loud.

"You aren't wearing that," Mr. Bolton said, folding his paper shut. "Go change."

"What's wrong with this?" Troy asked, stopping in the middle of pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Your shirt is covered in blood," Jack said absentmindedly. "And don't even think about pouring yourself a cup of coffee."

Troy stared in disbelief at his dad as Jack carried his empty plate over to the sink and let it clatter in. As Jack started to drain his own cup of coffee, Troy said, "Dad, without the caffeine boost, the doctor said I'll get migraines. You know…"

"I know what the doctor said, Troy," Jack snapped. "But your actions this morning give you no plaudits for a reward. Now go get dressed."

Troy shot Mr. Bolton a dirty look before trudging upstairs. He walked into his room and reached instinctively to the door before realizing that the only thing left of the door was the hinges. Troy called downstairs, confused, "Dad? Where's my door?"

"Where'd you put it?"

"I- on its hinges!" Troy said, tweaked. "Dad, where'd you put my door?"

When he got no answer he scoffed and searched for some clothes. It was a futile attempt for Troy's mother was out of town and the clothes wouldn't be cleaned until she got back; God forbid Jack would do them. Troy's main trick was to find clean articles. He finally decided on a green tee shirt and some jeans but as he turned to leave his room he got a rather upsetting glimpse of himself in the mirror. Bruises were crawling down his arms, blotching his skin purple and blue. They creeped up the nape of his neck that he hardly dared worry about; his shaggy head of brown hair would surely cover it.

Troy sighed and pulled the shirt over his head. He finally found a rare treasure for himself: a clean shirt. Troy found it extremely painful to pull the shirt over his straining limbs so did it excruciatingly slow as not to upset his beat-up torso.

A dull throb had begun to pulse in Troy's temple as he made his way to the car, hitching his backpack over his injured shoulder. He winced in pain as the beating slowly grew larger and stronger, stretching until his entire skull was twisting with pain.

"Dad?" Troy asked as he and Jack made their way into the crowded parking lot of East High. "What am I going to do about practice? I can't wear the jersey; it's sleeveless."

There was a silence, stretched with tension before Mr. Bolton glanced uneasily at Troy and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Troy said, irritated. "Well, unless you _want _everyone to know that you-…"

"All right!" Jack shouted, the noise sending ripples of pain through Troy's head. "Just say you lost your jersey."

Troy sighed. "Fine."

"And I'll expect seventy suicides by the end of practice."

"What?" Troy asked. "Wha- why?"

"You know the rules, Troy," Jack scolded, an evil smile curling at his lips. "If you come unprepared to practice, you run seventy suicides."

----

"Bye, Dad!" Troy shouted with false happiness. "Thanks!"

He slammed the door shut and his dad turned into a parking spot some twenty feet over. Troy put a hand on his throbbing temple and made his way to school. Troy made his way into school, navigating with ease through the oncoming teachers and students. He searched for a brown-haired, brown-eyed maiden who was anxiously awaiting his arrival. Troy found her in front of his locker, pacing quickly. He snuck up behind her and masked her eyes with his warm hands.

"Guess who."

"Get away, you stalker!" Gabriella teased playfully. She turned around and faced Troy happily. "You know, you're going to back in gym today?"

"Why's that?" Troy asked, throwing books in and out of his locker. He knew perfectly why but decided to play up his acting skills… They had to come in handy sometime.

"Well, we haven't gotten the new shipment for the Junior gym shirts. You'll have to wear that long sleeved shirt!"

Troy was about to retort smartly when he saw his father approaching down the hall. He tossed his geometry book into his backpack before turning to Gabriella and saying, "I'm going to hit the library before homeroom to see if that got that book I was waiting for."

"Wait," Gabriella said. "You read?"

"Heh heh heh," Troy said sarcastically, fake laughing in her face and slamming his locker door shut. She giggled and said, "I'll come with you. I've got to return a book anyway."

She swung her backpack over her shoulder and plopped it onto the ground heavily. Gabriella fished through her large textbooks and filled-up notebooks until she clutched onto her latest reading find. She took it out and announced, "Got it!" Her brown curls slapped her face as she looked back and forth down the hall.

"Where'd he go?"

----

Troy breezed into homeroom four minutes early and took a seat at his desk, lazily tossing his backpack onto the floor. He sighed and cradled his throbbing head into his hands. In an attempt muffle a sob, his shoulders shook and jerked. He stopped and cursed himself for being so weak.

Troy sighed once again and latched his hands behind his head in a mock hammock, leaning his head back to let it rest. His mind flicked to his cell phone that lay in the pocket of his backpack and he was so tempted to call his mom and beg her to come home from her "Ladies' Spa Week" out in California but couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn't want to be the one to ruin her relaxing week and possibly her marriage.

Troy let out a cry of pain and clutched his head tightly, clenching his teeth. His dependency on coffee was embarrassing to him. His friends and parents were the only ones that knew of it. He had developed it around age fifteen when his father had begun treating him like a punching bag.

"Troy?"

Troy whipped around, upsetting the delicate balance of his aching head. Gabriella was in the doorway leaning heavily against the frame. She cautiously stepped out of her spot and into the room, slowly making her way towards Troy. She placed her hand on the small of his back and rubbed it assuringly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Troy said, letting his head fall into his hands again. "We ran out of coffee this morning."

"Oh. Do you need anything?" Gabriella asked softly.

Troy shook his head, letting a fresh wave of pain erupt and bleed through the fragile state of his mind. "Nothing you can get."

And he meant it.

**Author's Note: There you go; the first chapter. I hoped you liked it although it was really long. Please review but no flames. I've had enough flames, thank you very much! Haha. **


	3. Chapter Two: Panicking

**Chapter 2: Panicking**

"Good try!" Troy shouted to his panting and heaving team.

They were just ending a particularly awful practice: Chad and Jason had collided, messing up the entire play, making Bill Morrison trip over them and sprain his ankle, Zeke had called the wrong play eight times and gotten everyone confused to the point of screaming at Troy, and Troy felt so raw that he could hardly move without wincing in pain. And he still had the suicides to look forward to.

"Why don't we-um…" He could hardly voice that he wanted to throw the practice to his tired team so he turned to Chad and asked, "Any suggestions?"

Chad shrugged in defeat. "Let's just scrimmage."

"We only have red jerseys," Zeke noted, scanning the sea of sweaty teenage boys. Troy fidgeted nervously and added, "And mine's blue." He tugged at the edge of his shirt tensely.

"How about shirts vs. skins?" Jason shrugged. "Troy can just be skins?"

Troy felt his stomach back flip as the team muttered their agreement. Chad assigned teams and everyone dashed to opposite ends of the gym to eagerly start their game. They all loved basketball but sometimes it was nice to relax and just have a little fun. Scrimmage did just that for them.

"Come on, Troy!" Jason shouted, tossing his jersey onto the floor beside the bleachers. "We can't play without you!"

Troy felt his heart beat wildly in his chest. He searched for a plausible excuse and came up with, "Actually, I have to finish up my suicides. You guys go ahead. I'll come when I can."

He then ran over to the far side of the gym and began his long set of suicides, wondering vaguely how his tired body would be able to keep up with the strenuous effort. He ran back and forth across the gym, his chest heaving. By the time he had reached over half, he collapsed onto the floor heavily.

Jason, Chad, and Zeke called the practice and the team ran madly to the locker rooms, cheering out their school spirit. The three friends jogged over to Troy who looked asleep on the cold floor of the gym. His eyes were closed and his chest was moving to a steady beat as it tried to balance the beating of his heart.

Without opening his eyes, he said, "I should probably finish those up."

Troy pulled himself off the floor with great effort but then faltered from exhaustion. Chad's quick hands caught Troy as he wavered and Troy hastily recovered himself by saying, "Thanks… um…"

Chad noticed by now that without his help, Troy could hardly stand on his own. He and his friends shot worried glances at each other and Chad helped Troy to sit on the bleachers. "How many have you done?"

"Forty-nine."

"I'll finish them up for you," Chad offered, picking up a stray water bottle and handing it over to Troy who took it gratefully and didn't bother to ask whose it was before drinking its contents.

"Yeah," Jason agreed quickly.

"We'll all do them," Zeke said, shooting a glance at Troy.

"Nah," Troy said after finishing his drink. "I think that the water helped but thanks anyway."

He tried to stand but found that he couldn't bring himself to do it. Troy looked over at his friends and shrugged, hoping they would leave him alone. He gave a grunt of pain and pushed himself off the bleachers only to be caught by Zeke's strong hands.

"Dude, we can handle seven suicides," Jason said as Zeke lowered Troy back onto the wooden bleacher. "You're working yourself too hard. Just relax a bit."

Troy smiled weakly as his friend began running across the gym. As soon as they had reached out of his range his muttered a very grateful, "Thanks." Before nodded slowly off to sleep.

----

Chad signaled to his friends as he saw Troy drift to sleep. They all had the same looks etched across their faces: worry. Troy had never been so forgetful and he had also never been so weak. It wasn't like him to stay out of a scrimmage; no matter _how _many suicides he had to do. He was the energetic Troy Bolton! He knew no break.

Zeke gently prodded Troy's sleeping form and whispered, "Wake up, Troy. Come on, we have to go shower."

Troy's eyelids barely fluttered open and he lifted his head towards his friends. "Whazzgoinon?" He asked sleepily. The friends chuckled and helped him off the ground. They then slowly made their way to the locker rooms, half-carrying Troy down the halls.

As soon as they made it in the correct locker section, they laid Troy on the metal bench so he was back down with one leg in a V shape on the bench, the other dangling onto the floor and on arm laid across his chest with the other's knuckles just barely brushing the cold ground.

"No!" Troy shouted. "No! Please don't!"

Troy shuddered into life and let out a deafening scream. His chest started to heave and cold sweat began to drip down his face. He swung himself over the bench so he sat and put his head in his hands. His body began to shake uncontroablly.

He let out a mortified whisper, "That was so scary."

Chad quickly got onto the bench beside Troy who began to tremble crazily. He clutched his head tightly in his hands and let cold air slice through his clenched teeth. Chad put a reassuring hand on the small of his friend's back and demanded, "Jason, go get Mr. Bolton. He'll know what to do."

Jason disappeared as quickly as possible in a desperate search for the teacher's lounge. The doors in the locker room slammed shut with a bang. Chad rubbed vigorous circles on Troy's back, whispering words of comfort when he looked up and saw Zeke watching them wide-eyed.

"What's going on with him?" He asked.

"I don't _know_," Chad said loudly and frustrated. "You _really_ need to get him something with caffeine though, Zeke, or his head will only get worse. And I can't imagine a headache making this any better."

Zeke nodded, wide eyed, and backed quickly out of the locker room, then sprinting to the vending machine, desperate to find a drink. Chad watched the hair on the back of Troy's neck begin to stick on his neck and become wetter and wetter. He felt a warm spot of water on his shirt and said, "Come on, Troy. Let's get this off. You'll be too hot with it on."

Troy shook his head but Chad took it as a shake of pain not a plea for him to stop. Just as Chad had his hands around the bottom of Troy's shirt and pulled the end off his back, Mr. Bolton, Zeke, and Jason showed up.

"Is he okay?" Jack asked worriedly.

Hey, Troy had to get his thespian background somewhere.

"I'm not sure," Chad said and explained what had happened as he, Zeke, Jason, and Troy left the gym. Mr. Bolton nodded and walked over, sitting on the bench next to him. Zeke tried get the shaking teenager to drink the Mountain Dew he was holding but all Troy did was shove it away declaring, "I don't deserve it! I don't… don't deserve."

Jason leaned against the doorway and a realization hit him. "He's having a panic attack…" He announced in awe.

Mr. Bolton and Chad brought Troy to the car and laid him gently in the backseat. Chad drove with Troy in the backseat while Jason and Zeke followed them in Zeke's car. Chad sat, rubbing Troy's shaking knee, and said, "Don't worry, Troy. You're the strongest guy I know. You'll get through it."

He could've sworn that he saw Mr. Bolton's face in the rearview mirror flash from worried to anger to downright confused in a matter of seconds. They pulled smoothly into the white driveway and parked beside the driveway. Chad scrambled as quickly as he could to get Troy out of the car. Once Zeke came to a halt behind them, Jason ran over and helped too.

It took only about a minute to get the slowly moving Troy to the door and to hand him gently off to Mr. Bolton. Mr. Bolton tenderly wrapped Troy's arm around his shoulders and swung open the door. He coughed, signaling to the boys that they needed to leave. Jason and Zeke took the hint and walked to the car, watching Troy over their shoulders, but Chad stubbornly remained behind and said, "I know that Mrs. B is out this week. You want me to stay and help out with Troy?"

"I'll be fine, Chad," Troy said through gritted teeth. Chad nodded and placed a strong hand on Troy's trembling shoulder.

"Call me if you need anything, 'kay?"

Troy nodded and let out an aggravated hiss for that had extremely upset his head. Chad gave a worried look and nodded his good-bye to Mr. Bolton. He jogged back to the car and slammed the door shut. Mr. Bolton waved good-bye to the boys as they drove down the street. As soon as the red SUV turned the corner, his face softened and he shoved Troy into the house roughly.

Troy stumbled and fell to the ground heavily. He flipped himself over quickly so that he was facing his father for he never knew what to expect when his back was turned. Jack slammed the door shut and faced his son angrily, saying, "That was quite a scene you put up out there."

Troy gulped and nodded, using his hardly responsive limbs to propel himself further away from his livid father. Jack stared at his son with a cruel smile twisting his lips, "You remember what happens to people who put up a scene?"

Troy mind worked on overdrive remember the stories his father had told him of his own childhood. Troy's grandfather would get so angry at Jack when he acted out that he would whip Jack over the back with a belt. Troy gulped and let out a shaking, pleading voice.

"Dad, please. No."

"Stand up, Troy."

**Author's Note: Okay, it was short and not very well written but I'm bad at updating so I decided that when I got the time, I was going to write. Tell me what you think please!**


	4. Chapter Three: Enigma

**Chapter 3: Enigma**

Troy carried himself painfully to his room, his back raw and blistered. He stumbled into his bedroom and collapsed heavily onto the bed, moaning as his muscles strained against his weight and his tender bruises were pressed on by a hard lump in the bed. Slowly, he pulled the hard lump from under his back and stared at it. It was his cell phone; he wondered vaguely how in the world it had gotten into his bed.

Suddenly, it began to ring very loudly. Troy, startled, let out a yelp and dropped it to the floor. He swore as its vibration sent it skittering across the hardwood floor and under his desk. He scrambled off his unmade bed and onto his hands and knees, answering the phone just in time.

"'Lo?" He asked quizzically.

"Troy?" A voice said. "It's Gabi. Are you okay? Zeke told me what happened."

"Yeah," Troy answered. "Yeah, I'm fine." He tried to get to his feet but only succeeded in slamming his head on the underside of his oak wood desk, causing him to swear under his breath. He could almost feel Gabriella tense up.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine," Troy said quickly. "I just hit my head on the bottom of the desk."

"What were you doing under- …No. I don't want to know," Gabriella decided. "You need me to bring you something?"

"Umm…" Jack had left the house to go out… well… _somewhere _with _someone_ but if you would really like to know, Troy could care less where he was as long as he wasn't at home. "Sure. Hey, could you grab some Advil?"

"Sure. Need some coffee? I know you guys ran out," Gabriella offered as she scrambled around for her coat, car keys, and her wallet. Troy heard the slam of the front door as Gabriella made her way to her car.

"Um… no, thanks," Troy said, scratching the back of his head and searching dismally for a new shirt, one preferably that didn't have any belt slashes in the back. He picked up a black tee shirt and sniffed it, immediately wrinkling his nose and throwing it in the hamper in the corner of the room as he waited for a reply.

"Okay. I'll be over in like twenty minutes," Gabriella said.

"I'll be here. Bye, thanks!"

It wasn't even thirty seconds later when his cell phone awoke again with his loud, echoing ringtone. Troy answered it after the first ring, "Hello?"

"I forget," Gabriella's voice said. "Do you like Irish Cream or Colombian Dark?"

Troy couldn't help but to smile. "Gabi, it's fine. You don't need to get me coffee."

"I know, but I don't really care, so uhh-," Gabriella said absentmindedly. "So what kind?"

"Surprise me."

"'Kay!"

She hung up.

----

Gabriella showed up at the Bolton's house exactly seven minutes after she hung up with Troy, running three stop signs and going sixteen miles over the speed limit. She rushed into the house without knocking noticing that only Troy's car (which Mr. Bolton wasn't letting him drive at the current time) was in the driveway so she would meet no angry parents in the house.

She found it extremely difficult to juggle car keys, Advil, and a steaming cup of Irish Cream coffee as she made her way into the kitchen. Gabriella laid the stuff on the counter and called out, "Troy! I'm here!"

"Hey, Gabi!" Troy called, jogging down the stairs to meet her. He turned the corner into the kitchen and greeted Gabriella with a thankful hug. He breathed in her flowery shampoo and sighed, "Thanks a ton, Gabriella."

She tightly hugged him back, letting his Drakkar Noir cologne waft up her nose. She closed her eyes and let herself breath in what _was _Troy Bolton. She finally looked up at him, "I got Irish Cream."

He smiled brightly. "My favorite."

Troy took the take-out cup and clutched it in his cold hands. He took a long sip and smiled letting the steamy liquid warm his body from his feet to his head and almost instantly, the caffeine kick begun to wear down his headache.

"Ahh," Troy sighed, bringing a hand to the slowly fading throbs in his temples. "That's better. Thanks, Gabriella."

"Don't mention it!" Gabriella said dismissively. Then she looked down at the small bottle of Advil in her hands. "What'd you need the Advil for?"

"Oh," Troy said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just… sore from… practice and stuff."

Gabriella nodded, still staring at the bottle. She looked up at him as she went to grab a glass of water, "I heard about the suicides! Your dad is _so _harsh!"

"Nah," Troy said, following her. "Just being a coach."

Gabriella shook her head but didn't argue her point as she swung open the cabinet door. Her small hand reached out and grabbed a small glass cup; she pulled it down slowly, listening to the grating noise it made against the wood of the cabinet. Gabriella finally turned around and looked over at sink. Next the stainless steel basin was a half-filled coffee pot.

"What's this?" She asked, lifting the glass pot out of its case. Troy turned around and looked at the pot with wide eyes. He reached up and scratched the back of his neck. How could he have forgotten to dump it? Whenever he didn't, he got in trouble and by trouble I mean… do you need an explanation?

"Umm… I don't know," Troy trying to come up with an excuse no matter how bad it was. "Maybe my dad came back at his free period and made some for me for tonight?"

Gabriella nodded, staring at the swirling brown liquid. She gently placed it back in the container. She turned to the sink and let freezing water pour into the cup she had gotten. Gabriella handed it to Troy and fished one Advil out of the bottle.

"Gabi?" Troy asked, staring at the medicine. "I take a little more than one now."

"Oh, yeah," Gabriella said. "You know, at times you're so immature that I can't tell if you're seventeen or seven."

Troy poked his tongue out at her and she laughed, handing over two more pills. Troy gulped them down and gave her thanks. They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments when Troy said, "So, how's the Scholastic team going?"

"Great!" Gabriella said, ecstatic that _someone _was willing to talk about her team. "Today, Martha and Miranda got the equation in 23.72 seconds! That's a record for our team!"

"And I bet you have the top one with like… 12.39 seconds?" Troy teased, leading the two to sit at the small, square table in the kitchen. Gabriella laughed and followed.

"14.67 if you must know!" Gabriella said.

"Wow… You're too smart for me," Troy said, mocking a dumbfounded tone.

Gabriella laughed and swatted him lightly on the shoulder. Troy cringed and brought his hand quickly up to his shoulder. Gabriella gave him a quizzical look. He shrugged and said, "So… do you like Chinese food? We have some leftovers in the fridge."

"I do but I'm not hungry, thanks," Gabriella said. Troy shrugged and asked, "Well, do you mind if I eat? I haven't eaten anything since lunch and I had a long practice."

"Go ahead," Gabriella said, touched that he cared enough to ask her. He previous guy-friends just pigged out right in front of her, often never inviting her to eat with them. Of course, she had only had a few guy-friends before considering her previous status of the "Freaky Genius Girl". None of the guys really looked twice at her… before Troy.

Troy scooped some rice and a small bit of meat onto his plate and stuffed it into the microwave carelessly. He pressed the correct buttons and let the microwave come to life, moaning and spinning at its own accord. Troy turned around and asked Gabriella, "So, how's your mom?"

"She's doing great," Gabriella said. "She's thinking of trying to go out with a few guys soon."

"Really? That's great!" Troy said with a smile. Ms. Montez was one of the few parents that he had really gotten to know and enjoy being with. He knew that after the death of her beloved husband it had been really hard for her to get back onto her feet and begin with the then fifteen year old Gabriella. "You know, I think she and Mr. Baylor would really hit it off. You know, after the divorce and all, he's been looking for someone."

"Yeah," Gabriella said, giving a smile. "You know, I never thought of that before. I'll be sure to tell her. Thanks, Troy!"

Troy nodded and the microwave dinged. He pulled out his steaming plate and made his way to the small table, smiling brightly. Being with Gabriella always cheered him up, even if he was having the worst day of his life… and believe it or not, this day had been fairly good compared to others he had. He began to slowly eat his food, taking special care to avoid the meat.

"Why'd you put the meat on your plate if you aren't going to eat it?" Gabriella asked, noticing the rice flecked meat pushed onto the edge of the blue plate. Troy swallowed a bite of rice and said, "My dad likes me to eat it for training but I don't like meat very much so I put it on my plate and leave it there so it looks like I got full."

"Why don't you like meat?" Gabriella asked, astounded. She thought that all boys were destined to become carnivores in the near future. That's one reason she really liked Troy: He was so unpredictable. He could prove just about any theory wrong. "The taste?"

"I don't like the… _conjecture_ of meat," Troy said after a moment of hard thinking. "Stripping meat off of a once living animal and eating it… Doesn't the idea just kind of sicken you a bit?"

Gabriella thought about it. "I guess so. But… it _is _the circle of life and I guess we should respect it."

"That's why I am silently protesting meat," Troy declared before stuffing another forkful of rice in his mouth. Gabriella nodded with a secretive smile. Troy could get her thinking… and never let her stop. Such an enigma he was, and yet, she was determined to crack the mind that lay underneath that mass of sandy locks of hair.

Just as Troy threw his plate in the sink, Gabriella heard the door crack open and Mr. Bolton's thundering voice rumbling through the halls, "_Troy_! Troy, where are you?"

"I'm in here, Dad!" Troy called nervously which made Gabriella wonder. Nervous and Troy Bolton don't mix… It was as simple as that. Again, an enigma she was determined to crack. "_Gabriella_ and I are just eating some dinner."

Mr. Bolton stopped dead in the doorway on hearing Gabriella's name and also seeing her sitting across from his son. He nodded his hello and turned immediately to Troy, "I have some news for you."

"News?" Troy half-groaned. "News is never good."

Jack sighed dramatically (again, his unknown acting skills were doing him great things) and leaned heavily against the wooden cabinets. There was a long pause before he spoke again, choking on his "tears".

"I was downtown with my lawyer. You're mother has filed for a divorce."

Gabriella froze, the whole moment seeming unreal to her. Mr. and Mrs. Bolton always seemed so… _fond _of each other. She was currently in California, that Gabriella knew but what made her change her mind on her marriage was absolutely baffling.

"She _what?_" Troy asked loudly and incredulously. "But why?"

Gabriella reached over the table and grabbed Troy's shaking hand. He looked over at her, his blue eyes clouded with weariness, sorrow, and an inkling of fear. She noticed how badly Troy's hand was shaking and let out a soothing whisper, "It's okay, Troy."

"At this point, she hasn't made it known," Jack began. "All we know is that it had something to do with _you, _Troy."

"M-me?" Troy stammered fretfully. Shoot. Now he was in trouble.

"But she gave me a speck of good news."

"Which is?" Troy asked with a tinge of sarcasm lining his words.

"Your mother has decided to let me keep full custody of you as she has decided to reside in California," Jack explained.

Gabriella noticed something of a smile curl on his lips, on that sent shivers reverberating down her spine. It wasn't one of warmth or tenderness; it seemed cold and malevolent. Troy seemed to notice the smile, too, and his quivering hand clenched Gabriella's tighter; not enough to hurt her but enough for him to feel secure.

"She didn't want you away from the family and friends you grew up with," Jack added. He turned and stared at Gabriella, his eyes, traveling down to her small hands clasped with Troy's, widened in anger. Gabriella took this as her time to leave so she slowly slipped her hand out from Troy's and noticed dismally that the second she let go, his hands began to shake again.

"I'll just leave you two alone," Gabriella said, standing up. "Call me if you need anything."

Before Troy could offer to help her to the door, Gabriella scampered off and got into her car. As she put her keys in the ignition and let the car roar to life, she looked back miserably at the Bolton house. She could hear a distant yell as Mr. Bolton began his rant and she heard a loud, shaking _thud_! emit from the bowels of the house.

Gabriella shook her head, not wanting to know what was going on and vaguely wondering why she ever thought that she wanted to crack the enigma that was Troy Bolton.

**Author's Note: Well, it wasn't my strongest but it was a quicker update! Please review!**


	5. Chapter Four: Perfect

**Chapter Four: Perfect**

Troy groaned as he stared out the rain-splattered window. The rain had started up again, this time less brutal and a lot more calming. He sighed and turned to face his front door, ready for yet another day of school and another days of secrets. But Troy had made a decision.

After last night, he wasn't keeping any more secrets.

Troy decided to disobey his father and drove his car to school, almost falling asleep at the wheel. Lately, his sleep had been limited and he had often woken up in the middle of the night screaming. What haunted him during day didn't leave him alone in his sleep either.

Rain splattered around his wheels as he drove lazily through the school parking lot. His headlights pierced the darkness for it was still dark out from the billowing clouds and the time which had been six o' clock in the morning. He found a parking spot quickly for the lot was nearly empty except for those who had clubs in the peak of the morning or the devoted teachers who spent entirely too much time at school.

Troy got out of the car, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. He looked towards the door of the school and slowly made his way there, letting the rain slap against his cheeks. Troy indolently swung open the door and walked into the fluorescent-lit hallway and listened to the squeaking of his tennis shoes on the shining tile floors.

He began to hum a tune, not one he had heard before but one that he merely made up. Troy traveled through the school, watching the lockers stroll past him, the floor zipping behind him. He reached two doors that swung open at his light touch and he strolled inside. His feet just carried him right into the theater.

Troy let his fingers travel across the clothed seats in each row, touching the back of each aisle seat as he came closer and closer to the looming dark stage. Slowly, he traveled up the steps on the right side of the stage, his thundering footsteps echoing in the empty auditorium. The dust-covered, velvet curtains were swept off to the side, leaving an open stage in front of him. A lone microphone stand stood on the center of the stage.

Troy went behind the curtain and stared at the big electronic-looking box that controlled all of the sound system in the theater. He pressed a button and waited for the small light to slowly blink green. Carefully, he turned a knob and heard the cackle of the microphone starting up. The pressing and turning were mere strokes of luck, for Troy had absolutely no idea how to work the control panels.

Slowly he walked out to the microphone and tapped his foot to a steady beat that was pulsing in his mind. He grabbed the microphone and its stand in his hands and tilted it slightly as to get it closer to his mouth. In a low, endearing voice, he sang.

_Hey, Dad, look at me_

_Think back and talk to me_

_Did I grow up according to plan?_

_And do you think I'm wasting my time_

_Doing things I wanna do?_

_But it hurts when you disapprove all along_

_And now I try hard to make it_

_I just wanna make you_

_Proud_

_I'm never gonna be good enough for you_

_I can't pretend that I'm all right_

_And you can't change me_

Troy was so wrapped in his song he didn't notice the slight crack of the door and darkened figure slip into the back row of seats, huddling into the shadows. He tapped his foot to a steady beat and heard the strum of an imaginary guitar and the fantasy drum pounded out a secure rhythm. Again he brought the microphone to his mouth and sang.

_Cuz' we lost it all_

_Nothing lasts forever_

_I'm sorry I can't be_

_Perfect_

_Now it's just too late_

_And we can't go back _

_I'm sorry I can't be_

_Perfect_

A musical interlude followed, all of the unreal instruments being strummed, pluck, on drummed; the cymbals crashed and the music played on, slowing down to start his next verse. Troy could see the music swarming in the air; he could imagine the note swirling around the room.

_I try not to think_

_About the pain I feel inside_

_Did you know you used to be_

_My hero?_

_All the days you spent with me_

_Now seem so far away_

_And it feels like you don't care_

_Anymore_

_And now I try hard to make it_

_I just wanna make you_

_Proud_

_I'm never gonna be good enough for you_

_Can't stand another fight_

_And nothing's all right_

Silent tears ran down Troy's cheeks as he re-sung the chorus, wholeheartedly letting his soul and his body combine and letting out the powerful, soulful instrument that was his voice carry through the almost empty theater. He liked the way his deep voice echoed through the room, reverberating in his chest. He took a deep breath and began again.

_Cause nothing's gonna change the_

_Things that you said_

_And nothing's gonna make this_

_Right again_

_Please don't turn your back_

_I can't believe it hard just to_

_Talk to you_

_But you don't understand_

Troy freely sang out the chorus again, letting more large tears spill from his crystal blue eyes. The pace in his mind went faster and he made himself louder, made himself be heard. Then suddenly, he felt himself slow down the rhythm came almost to halt.

_Cuz' we lost it_

_Nothing lasts forever_

_I'm sorry I can't be_

_Perfect_

_Now it's just too late_

_And we can't go back_

_I'm sorry I can't be_

Troy felt a warm beam of sunlight break through the tiny windows that were placed very close to the tall ceiling. It shone down on him like a spotlight, showcasing the dust that fluttered through the air. A few tears slipped down his face and splattered onto the stage.

_Perfect._

----

Sharpay threw a hand to her mouth to cover her gasp, staring up at Troy in the center of the stage. She had showed up at school to help move the costumes from the new shipment into the dressing room early that morning and when she heard the sound system cackle to life, she felt the need to go investigate. Sharpay caught Troy in the middle of his song and decided to hear it sung out and decide if he was any good or not.

He was but that wasn't the point. Quickly, she gathered herself and made it out the theater door before Troy even finished turning off the sound system. She needed to find someone… and fast.

----

The school began to fill up with busy students, all bustling around and trying to find books, homework, friends, and Lord knows what else. Gabriella smiled as she stepped into the school and smelled the fragrance that always put a smile on her face: cleaning bleach, girls shampoo and perfume, guys cologne, paper, chalk, and sweat, the smell of her school, the smell of East High.

Gabriella strategically made her way through the crowded hallways, dodging in and out of the milling students. She strolled slowly through the people and finally made her way towards Taylor's locker. She smiled brighter upon seeing the back of her friend's head sticking out of the locker. As quietly as she could, Gabriella tiptoed up behind Taylor and then shouted in her ear, "_Guess who_!"

Taylor jumped and hit Gabriella who fell to the floor in a laughing heap. Taylor put a hand over her quickly beating heart and then helped the giggling Gabriella off the floor, scolding, "Don't _do_ that!"

"So!" Gabriella said happily. "How was the tutoring session with Joe?"

"About that, Gabi," Taylor said, turning to her friend. "He exploded the chemicals all over a stack of textbooks; half of the pages in the books dissolved away!"

"What?" Gabriella asked, her euphoric mood worn away. "Did any survive it?"

"A couple," Taylor nodded solemnly. "I was trying to find you earlier…"

Troy strolled up at this point and interrupted the conversation sounding nervous, yet in some way, relieved. He leaned against the locker and spoke to Gabriella.

"Gabi, can I-uh- talk to you for a second?" He asked, playing with the bottom his button down shirt.

"Can it wait a minute?" Gabriella asked, frustration lining her every word. "Taylor and I have to go back to the science lab."

She and Taylor traveled down the hallway, Taylor yammering on about the state of the books, leaving Troy all alone in the middle of the hall. He sighed and stared after Gabriella, yearning to let it all out.

"Sure."

----

That day, during his History class, Troy was falling asleep; his eyelids were drooping and the hand that was propping his head up was beginning to fall. The sun shone warmly on his face, illuminating the large bags that had formed under his eyes from his restless night before.

Just as Troy's eyelids fluttered closed, they snapped back open as he heard the small rustle of a paper falling onto his desk. Curious, he opened the balled piece of looseleaf and smoothed it to the best of his abilities. His eyes never even _thought _of closing again after he read the words:

_I know._

**Author's Note: Okay, well, I'm just going to let everyone know that I am **_**very **_**bad at updating so I may take a while but it's summer break now (YES!) so I may get a bit better. **

**Disclaimer: The song, entitled Perfect, is credited to Simple Plan. And… sure, I own High School Musical. Yeah, Zac and I playing cards in a minute. **


	6. Chapter Five: A Carnival Kiss

**Chapter Five: A Carnival Kiss**

Troy dashed out of the room as the first bell had barely began to ring. He ran as quickly as he could towards a locker. When he arrived there, the Literature class had just begun to file out of the room, crowding the hallway with people. It was a surprise, to say the least, to Troy that someone knew. Luckily, he had spent enough time with the gang to know their handwriting or he would've driven himself crazy trying to find the person.

Just as his friend passed in front of his blue eyes, Troy snatched their shoulders, put a hand over their mouth and dragged them to the adjoining hallway that remained empty as it was just a dead end with lockers lining the walls.

"How did you find out?" Troy asked, trapping his friend between the lockers and his strong arms.

"Shar told me everything," Ryan said, gulping a bit because of Troy's apparent hostility. He straightened himself up and cleared his throat. "I put two and two together and got an abusive parent."

"Shh! Ryan!" Troy said, looking over his shoulder nervously. "Look, you _can't _tell anyone."

"Troy, I don't know-."

"You don't _have _to know," Troy said quickly, pulling his arms away from Ryan. "You just have to keep your mouth shut."

"I really think that-."

"Don't think!" Troy said, frustrated. "I've tried _really _hard to keep this a secret and I would _really _appreciate you keeping quiet about it."

Ryan looked into Troy's deep blue eyes, so sincere, so scared. They looked to him like they'd seen things that would always haunt him horribly. Ryan nodded his acceptance of Troy's idea although it seemed very stupid to him. Troy's expression softened and relief replaced his once fearful face.

"Thanks a lot, man," Troy said truthfully. His face then fell. "I feel… awful. I mean, I-I owe you _something_."

"No," Ryan said, shaking his head. "You owe _yourself _something: Respect."

He walked down the hall, whistling a tune, leaving Troy perplexed in his wake. Troy stared at his friend who walked with an air of dignity and wisdom and wished dearly he hadn't just made the stupid mistake he just made.

And it wasn't the last one he made, either.

----

Lights blinked in a blinding wave; rides twirled with a whoosh. All the voices were indecipherable from another, smells wafted precariously under Troy's nose. Music drifted through speakers and swirled through everyone's ears, and, just to add to the incoherent noise, Gabriella Montez squealed in delight.

"How cool is this?" She asked excitedly.

The Christmas carnival had shown up in Albuquerque, quite to Gabriella's delight. She had always enjoyed the excitement and fun in carnivals but the last time she had gone was when she was eight year olds and her father took her to the Destin Carnival. Gabriella had dismally missed the carnivals, greasy food, creepy carnies, and all.

A few of the gang had decided to check it out, especially since they felt the need for the break. With the Scholastic Decathlon, the Winter Musicale, and a basketball game around the corner, all the teens were stressed, grumpy, and tense and Gabriella had assured them a carnival was just what they needed to lift their tired spirits.

"Very," Troy said with a bright smile. Gabriella's becoming naïve always amazed him. She was so _complex _with the way she thought and the way her feelings flowed, but even the tiniest things brought her to euphoria.

"Come on!" Chad said, bouncing impatiently. "Let's get in line for the Sizzler!"

Taylor laughed and gave Gabriella a thankful, happy smile. She let Chad bring her into the Sizzler's line that was filled with little toddlers, waiting eagerly for a ride on the blinking, spinning, metal machine. Troy laughed as Chad grabbed Taylor's hand and questioned her on just about everything to do with the carnival.

Gabriella stared at Troy's face; his expression was lined with apprehension and anxiety. She gently touched his strong arm, causing him to flinch in fear. Gabriella gave him a look and asked, "Are you okay? You seem a little jumpy."

"Yeah!" Troy assured her. When Gabriella gave him a look of pure disbelief, he added, "I just realized I forgot to tell my dad I was here though."

"Why don't you call him then?" Gabriella asked quizzically. Troy bit his lip and reached into his pocket gingerly (as not to disturb any sores) and brought out his cell. He flipped it open casually with his thumb, stared at the bright screen for a second and said, "It's dead. I forgot to charge it again. Come on! Let's go in the haunted house."

He grabbed her hand with a soft touch that made Gabriella smile and clutch his tighter. Both ran wildly to the run down shack that had become home of the haunted house. Although the toddlers were screaming and crying, Troy and Gabriella never stopped laughing. It was absolutely unbelievable, yet they couldn't help but jump at every turn.

They emerged from the house a good fifteen minutes later, wiping tears of mirth from their eyes and cheeks. Troy let out a laugh and Gabriella sighed contently. Wordlessly, they agreed to drift over to the carousel and stand in the short line. Troy turned and looked at Gabriella, his eyes soft with wisdom of pain and a straight out shot of lust.

If there was really a difference between lust and love, Troy wanted to know what it was. He wanted to know if what he was feeling, what he had been feeling for almost two years now, was love or just some meaningless emotion. Butterflies in his stomach, churning stomach, stomach doing back-flips, euphoric wave of emotion, a sense of gentleness and compassion…

That _couldn't _be love, huh?

"So, are you enjoying this?" Gabriella asked, sighing happily and running her hands over the cold metal of the fence that contained everyone in line. Troy stood behind her, grabbing the fence on either side of her and trapping her there; he rested his head on her shoulder and said, "How could I not?"

Don't get the girl wrong; Gabriella _noticed _the gesture but she honestly put no thought to it. She didn't want to get her hopes up because _her_ obvious gestures meant nothing to Troy and he didn't like her back. She had learned to deal with that a long time ago. But this gesture made her spine tingle and made her stomach churn quickly. She was so obviously in love with him…

So why didn't he love her back?

"This has been the best Friday night I have had in a _long _time," Troy sighed in her ear. "Thanks."

"Thanks for coming. It wouldn't be the same without you," Gabriella answered. She then flipped around and gulped, noticing that she and Troy's faces were so close together that not even a piece of paper could've fit in between the gap between their noses. Gabriella stepped back and Troy cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Come on!" Troy said. "Let's get on!"

He took her hand in his and dragged her laughing onto the machine. Troy helped Gabriella mount a yellow pony with a crazy white mane and then mounted a gray pony with a wild expression on its plastered face. Gabriella giggled and looked at Troy.

"So," Troy said, letting his feet dangle around and "accidentally" brushing Gabriella's leg. "What are you naming yours?"

"Naming my what?" Gabriella asked, confused.

Troy patted his horse's head and said, "Your house. What are you naming it?"

Gabriella was taken back by this and pondered it for a moment. She finally spoke, slowly and clearly. "Rose."

"Why's that?" Troy asked, staring at her with caring eyes and radiating a loving demeanor. Gabriella couldn't help but indulge him in her past, something that she rarely talked of.

"When I was nine years old, my dad took me horseback riding," She began as the ride slowly started up. Her horse moved gracefully up and down and she continued her story, the obnoxious music hardly nipping her ears. "I had never gone before so, he decided to start me with an old horse; her name was Rose."

"So I bet you got on the horse and mastered riding it in say, five minutes?" Troy teased with his famous 100-watt smile. Gabriella laughed and said, "No. Actually, it took me a lot of courage to even get on this thing."

Gabriella patted her horse's head roughly but gasped in surprise when the ear spun of and skittered onto the ground. Troy burst out laughing and almost fell off his horse trying to calm himself. Gabriella couldn't help but to laugh, too; his laugh was so contagious.

"So, what'd you name yours?" Gabriella asked, once Troy gained control on himself.

"My horse?" Troy asked, looking ahead of him. "Gabriella."

Gabriella was extremely taken back and stared lovingly over at him. Troy glanced at her, smiling, and then looked ahead again. Immediately after, he regretted looking ahead and stared at her again, a huge grin plastered on his face.

"What?" Gabriella asked, tucking a strand of stray curls behind her ear.

"Nothing," Troy said. "You just look really beautiful right now."

Gabriella was again taken back and couldn't find the words to say. She looked disbelieving at Troy and he gave her a small, shy smile. He may have been the school's most popular guy, but Gabriella still made him as shy as a two year old.

Troy leaned closer to her and Gabriella leaned closer to him. They stayed like this for a few seconds until Troy reached over closer to her. He was so close that Gabriella could feel his heat on her cheeks. She closed her eyes, preparing for what she hoped would come. And suddenly…

The ride came to an abrupt stop, sending Troy to collapse to the floor and smack his head on Gabriella's horse on the way down. Gabriella jumped off her horse and crouched down next to him on the ground anxiously saying, "Oh my gosh, Troy! Are you okay?"

Troy's shoulders shook and Gabriella mistakenly took it for sobs and began to pat his back soothingly but Troy then turned over, tears of jollity running down his cheeks. Gabriella's face dropped and said angrily, "Troy Bolton! You jerk! You scared the heck out of me! You could've really been hurt!"

Troy didn't answer but continued laughing and said, "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Let's get off this damn ride!"

Gabriella laughed and helped him to his feet. He laughed again and both walked off the ride as quickly as they could. It wasn't until they were a few hundred yards away from the blinking carousel that Troy spoke.

"Now I know why you were so afraid to get on the ride!"

Both laughed. "Come on," Gabriella said. "Let's get you some ice."

----

Troy and Gabriella sat down on a green bench that's paint was beginning to slowly chip away. Gabriella brought the ice pack to the right side of Troy's face, where his forehead folded into a temple. Troy shivered and recoiled.

"That is _so _cold," He said as she arranged it. Troy brought a hand to his head, keeping the ice pack in place.

"Yes, ice tends to be a bit cold," Gabriella teased, looking through her pockets. She dumped a tube of chapstick, a crumpled dollar bill, two pennies, a dime, a Hello Kitty key chain complete with car keys, and a Wet Wipe out of her pocket. She ripped the Wet Wipe open with her teeth and said, "Now hold still."

Troy scooted down the bench a bit, craning his head back as far away as he could get it from Gabriella's outstretched hand. "Nuh uh! Those things _sting_."

"Oh come on, you big baby," Gabriella said, scooting closer to wipe his face. "It could get infected!"

"It's fine! See?" Troy said, removing the ice. Gabriella still persisted.

"Come on, Troy!" She begged. "Let me wipe it!"

She pushed herself closer so that Troy was on the edge of the bench. Gabriella raised the disinfectant up and Troy caught her wrist and then quickly grabbed the other one. He laughed as he said, "I don't want that thing on my head!"

Gabriella tried vainly to get out of his grip but she felt him tighten his grip and tug slightly at her wrist. Troy wasn't going to give up on his metallic grip. Troy pulled her closer and then…

Their lips touched.

It was just their lips brushing together but after that spark, Gabriella couldn't do anything to stop her yearning anymore; his grip on her hands loosened and she slipped her arms around his neck, kissing him on the lips. Troy silently wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed her back.

"Ahem!"

Troy and Gabriella stopped their brief kiss and looked over their shoulders. Chad was shifting from foot to foot, a giraffe hat perched precariously on the top of his head, and chomping down on blue cotton candy. Taylor was standing next to him, hands on her hips, her foot tapping.

"Since when have you two been going out and why wasn't I told?" Taylor asked.

----

The parking lot was empty besides a few pieces of loose paper rustling about in the December winds, popcorn that had been left carelessly on the cracked pavement, and Troy's car parked in the center. It was silent as the rides had been shut off and their lights turned down to burning specks in the Albuquerque night and then….

"I'm in love! I'm in love and I don't _care _who knows it!"

Troy spun in circles around the empty lot, his arms spinning around him. He spun until he buckled onto the ground, smiling and sighing blissfully. He threw himself onto his back and stared up at the twinkling stars, his arms folded behind his head. Chad walked up, his shoes crunching the few pebbles underfoot. He collapsed next to Troy and resumed his friend's same position.

"Is this how you felt when you got together with Taylor?" Troy asked, not even staring at his friend but still not letting the smile slip off his lips.

"Probably," Chad shrugged. "I mean, I wasn't _in love _yet but I was pretty close."

Troy sighed again. "It was amazing, Chad. She's amazing. This night is just absolutely amazing."

"You mean this morning?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah," Chad said, as his friend shot up, startled. "As of six minutes ago, it's Saturday."

Troy swore and scrambled up. Chad sensed his urgency and stood up, too, following Troy to his car. Troy opened up the passenger door swiftly and turned to his friend. "We need to go _now_. Sorry, Chad. Will you drive?"

"Yeah," Chad said, confused at his friend's exigency. "Yeah, I'll drive."

Troy smiled slightly and dug the keys out of his pocket. He tossed them to Chad would grabbed them and promptly got in the car and started it towards home. The road started out bumpy and suddenly smoothed out; Chad relaxed. He wasn't a very good driver and why Troy asked him to drive was way beyond him.

They pulled into Troy's driveway at 12: 17 exactly. Troy hopped out of the car as quickly as he could and turned to Chad. "Thanks, man. I owe you. But I got to get upstairs before my dad-"

"Before I _what_, Troy?"

Troy gave a silent, inward groan and let it show on his face. He turned around and his father's face became apparent in the shadows on his porch. The light flicked on, illuminating the man and the anger that was captured in his face.

"Dad…" Troy said with a fake, nervous laugh. "Um, I was going to call you and-"

"Get inside, Troy," Mr. Bolton said coldly. Troy lowered his head in shame and defeat and trudged into the house. Jack watched Troy with fury flaming his eyes. He turned to Chad. "Thank you, Chad. Good night."

Chad took that as an obvious cue to leave so he nodded and said, "G'night, Coach." He got in his car and sped off towards his home. Somewhere halfway between his house and Troy's, Chad slammed to a halt in the middle of the street.

He was still driving Troy's car.

Chad flipped around in the middle of the empty street and started his way back to the Bolton's house. He pulled smoothly into the driveway and yanked the keys out of the ignition. He started his way towards the door, and almost knocked on the wood. He stopped himself and decided it better not to risk waking Mr. Bolton. Silently, Chad swung open the door.

He stepped into the house and surveyed the room. It looked so different when it was only illuminated by moonlight. Troy's basketball shoes laid where the were thrown carelessly the day before, the tongues dropping and the laces loosened up; the couch's cushions lay is disarray and Chad couldn't help but notice a path of dusty shoes prints leading up the stairs.

Without thinking, Chad followed the moonlight-illuminated path. It carried him up the stairs, down the hall, and into Mr. Bolton's room. The door was only cracked open a fraction but still, Chad could see Troy's face plainly through it. He opened his mouth to speak and realized that Mr. Bolton was speaking in a low, menacing voice.

"-You left without my knowing, you were out past curfew, then, when you got home you were going to _sneak in _so I wouldn't know, but then you have the audacity to try to _run away from me_? Troy, what has gotten into you?"

Troy swallowed hard, a tear leaking out of his blue eyes and down his cheek. "I'm sick of getting _hurt_."

"Well, toughen up, Troy!" Mr. Bolton said, his voice jumping from a whisper to a mockingly-happy tone. "Once you do, it'll all be better."

"I don't need to _toughen up_, Dad!" Troy spat loudly. "You need to listen to me: I'm not a pansy, or a wimp, or pathetic, or any of the other things you say. I'm a human… I'm your _son_… and I'd like to be treated like it."

"What did you just say to me?" Jack asked incredulously.

Troy, who seemed so sure just moments ago, now seemed very hesitant about what he had just done. "Y-you heard me. Look. If it doesn't stop, I'm telling someone."

"How _dare_ you threaten me!"

"Someone already knows, Dad," Troy said, now seeming a bit more confident. "And if you don't stop, they'll tell; I swear they will."

Mr. Bolton then swung out and punched Troy in the jaw and Troy let out a hoarse yell of pain before crumpling to the ground in defeat. Mr. Bolton kicked Troy hard in the side and Troy let out another yell. Chad could hear that his friend was crying. "Dad, stop!"

Then Chad Danforth drifted back in the shadows, horrified, letting the events unfold.

**Author's Note: Oh! I bet you weren't expecting that! Or this quick update! A little bit of Troyella fluff, too! I was actually a tad bit proud of how this turned out but that's only in my eyes (and I'm not trying to be arrogant). I want to know what you felt about it; please refrain from writing just "Update soon!". (I'm very sorry if you feel hurt by this) I love to see that you like my story but I'd like to know what you like about it, what you would wish to see, who you wish to see more of, etc. Thanks!**


	7. Chapter Six: Like a Slap to the Face

**Author's Note: These few chapters are when everyone is finding out about Troy and his dad so as many as three a chapter (maybe even more) will find out. Thanks! Read on! **

**Chapter Six: Like a Slap to the Face**

Chad covered his mouth with his hands to stifle even his shallow breath. As quietly as he could, he backed up and made his way back down the staircase. He dared not make a noise as he stepped on the creaky stairs and got to the landing. Very suddenly, a loud cry emitted throughout the house.

Curiosity gripped him, and he just _had _to make his way back up the staircase. Stealthily, he climbed up the stairs, doing his best to avoid the stairs that moaned once pressure was applied to their old boards. Chad inaudibly stood back in front of the ajar door and strained his ears to listen.

"You _told_ someone?" Mr. Bolton asked, sending another sharp kick into Troy's side. Chad could hear Troy groan and saw his face twist into a grimace. Very slowly, Troy's eyes fluttered open and widened upon the sight of Chad's face appearing in the crack in the door.

"I didn't _tell _anyone, Dad," Troy moaned, his eyes darting to signal Chad that he had to move out of the way of the door for he was in plain sight. He flipped onto his back so that he could look his dad straight in the eyes. "They figured it out."

"Who?" Mr. Bolton demanded, once again stabbing Troy in the chest with his foot. Troy gave a slight moan and bit his lip, shaking his head. "I said _who_, Troy!" Once again, Troy just shook his head and braced himself for the pain. Mr. Bolton pulled Troy roughly to his feet and shoved him to the door. Troy stumbled forward but stopped himself from falling again. "Now, why don't we let Mr. Danforth inside?"

----

Troy slowly opened up the door and gave his friend a very petrified look, afraid of what was going to happen. Chad took shaking steps in the room and Troy shut the door behind him indolently, delaying the time as much as possible. Jack followed Chad with his piercing eyes as Chad made his way to sit on Mr. Bolton's unmade bed.

"So, I'm assuming Chad has no clue, considering the idiotic look on his face?" Mr. Bolton sneered, looking at Chad with absolute disgust. Troy shook his head and looked at his feet; this was all his fault and now Chad was probably in trouble, too. He could stand himself getting hurt but when one of his friends were injured at his expense, he would do anything to get them out… even the stupid decision he makes at the end of this conversation.

"So, Troy," Mr. Bolton said mockingly, moving dangerously close to Troy's face. "Who _does _know, huh? Is it that little Hispanic slut?"

"Her name is Gabriella!" Troy said boldly. "And lay off her, all right? She hasn't done anything to you!"

"So who knows, Troy?" Jack said, returning to his mocking tone. "Enlighten me."

Troy gulped and said, "None of your business."

"On the contrary," Jack sneered. "This is every bit of my business. Now tell me or I'll-"

"You'll _what_, Dad?" Troy asked with a bitter laugh. "Beat me? Oh, _there's _a surprise."

"Beat your friend, actually," Jack said, a malicious smile curled on his lips. Chad froze, unsure of what to do. Jack advanced on him and Troy jumped in front of Chad and said, "Don't touch him."

Jack chuckled and said, "Touching, Troy, really touching. You can defend your friend, but to yourself, you're worthless." Troy watched him, his eyes blaring with hatred as his father continued to talk. "You're pathetic! You'll never amount to anything, you worthless-"

But what it was about Troy that was so worthless, we'll never know because Troy had reached out and punched his dad square in the side of the head, knocking him to the ground unconscious. Troy turned to Chad and said shakily, tears spilling down his face, "Go! Get out of here!"

"Troy…" Chad said, not moving from his position. "What did you do?"

"What are you waiting for?" Troy asked, still crying. "Go! Hurry!"

"We need to…"

"No!" Troy shouted. "Chad, get out of here and go home. I don't want you here when he wakes up."

"Have you even…"

"Chad!" Troy shouted, frustrated. He wiped the tears off his cheek and said, "Do you know how much trouble I'm going to be in for that? Just get out of here!"

Chad dashed out of the room, thundering down the stairs, and made it to the car panting heavily. He then threw Troy's car keys onto the porch and heard it land on the front stoop with a clang. He jumped in his car and sped off towards home and for the rest of the weekend, didn't speak a single word.

----

Troy ran a hand through his hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. He knelt down next to his father's face and checked for any signs of blood or bruises. He vaguely wondered why he even cared to look. His father never did the same for him. Without another moment's hesitation, Troy carefully lifted his father onto the nearby bed with a small amount of difficulty.

He walked to the doorway and looked back with a heavy sigh and an aggravated shake of his head. Troy flipped off the light switch and shut the door with a tiny click; not wanting to face his father's vengeful wrath was he awoke from his unconscious sleep. He considering leaving but that would only make things worse when he came back; this he learned the hard way.

So Troy Bolton walked down and sat on his living room couch, waiting for the sure beating he was going to receive for his awful decision.

Troy found that he couldn't sleep, knowing what was lying ahead, so he grabbed his backpack from his room and lugged it down the staircase, hardly letting it touch his back. He dropped it heavily on the floor, letting its thud resound through the lower level of his house. He cursed himself for being so tactless and unzipped his backpack slowly, letting its grating noise fill his tired ears. Troy pulled the newest script by Kelsi, A Day in the Life of Rick Resnick, and opened the first page, letting his new life swarm in front of his eyes.

Maybe that was why Troy liked acting so much. He played a new part; he had someone's life. He was someone, _anyone_ but himself and to be able to escape this hellhole he called his life was okay. Even if it did mean his new name would be Rick Resnick.

----

Jack Bolton groaned and rolled over onto his back, rubbing his gently throbbing head with his strong hands. He blinked, his eyes getting used to the darkness, and sat up. Jack's head pounded with pain as he slowly rubbed it in vigorous circles. Jack began to wonder how he got on the bed in the first place; he didn't go to sleep here.

The memories flooded over him in a giant wave: Chad looking through the crack in the door, Troy screaming at Jack, Troy's fist flying at the side of his head…

Jack let out a howl of rage and screamed, "_Troy_!"

He pounded down the stairs, his feet straining to get to his son as fast they could carry him. He shouted Troy's name again and stopped, still as a statue, on the landing. Troy was sitting on the couch, reading what looked to Jack to be a huge stack of white paper that was filled with typed out words. Troy looked over at his dad and sighed, shutting his script carefully. He set it on the coffee table in front of him and stood up, smoothing out the fake wrinkles on his jeans and said, "Are we ready?"

Jack stared disbelievingly at his son. How _dare _he be so damn calm about it! Jack walked over, his long strides getting him over to his unmoving son in seconds. He looked Troy in the eye and asked, "Are you mouthing off to me?"

Troy shrugged. "Sorta. Yeah."

"Why you little…"

"Now _think_ before you finish that statement," Troy interrupted. "Is that _really _necessary?" Troy decided that he should have some fun: he'd be beaten either way.

"How _dare_ you speak to me that way!"

"How _dare _you beat me!"

Jack stared daggers into Troy's calm, collected face. Troy gave a smug smile and said, "Can we hurry up? I have to go somewhere in-" he checked his watch. "Eight hours."

Jack circled Troy, has hands latched behind his back. Troy yawned and looked at his watch again. He loved making his dad mad. It brought a speck of joy in his dull, dull life. Jack growled at Troy, "You do realize how much trouble you're in?"

Troy nodded, a childish grin spread across his face. "Yup!"

Jack let out an aggravated howl and punched Troy square in the jaw. Troy stumbled but looked but up at his father, his face now grave and serious. "Oh, so _now _you stop talking?" Jack asked mockingly. Troy didn't speak, instead he looked ahead austerely, eyes darkened in pain.

Jack let out a chuckle and shoved Troy to the ground… well… _tried _to shove Troy to the ground. Troy planted his feet firmly into the ground and smiled as his father struggled to push him over. Jack then swung his leg up and kicked Troy hard in the back of the knees and Troy buckled to the ground with a yell.

"That's what I thought," Jack whispered evilly in Troy's ear. Troy then brought himself up painfully and stared his father right in the eye, shaking his head. He said, "I don't know what makes you think this is right, Dad."

Jack's face softened for a brief moment and Troy thought he saw a change in his father that he never thought possible before. He was wrong. Jack let out a howl of rage and shoved Troy so that Troy fell back towards the kitchen. Troy, caught off guard, fell flat on his back on the wooden floors. He pushed himself backwards with his elbows and heels as Jack advanced on him.

Jack's leg was brought back and Troy shut his eyes tightly, bracing for the pain. He felt a sharp kick in the side and heard a resounding pop go through the kitchen. Troy moaned in pain and clutched his side tightly. He rolled onto his side for a brief moment and rolled back, his teeth clenched securely to block the pain, air slicing through his teeth.

Troy looked up at his dad, his hands still wrapped around his rib cage. Jack stared down with a looming air of rage and Troy continued to stare with a hatred so large that he was surprised it didn't burn a hole through Jack's skull. Jack nudged Troy with his foot and said, "Get up. Get up, you worthless little punk."

Troy scrambled helplessly to his feet, his hand clutching his chest. He then limped into a square position in front of the wide-open basement door. As you can imagine, it wasn't his best idea. Jack charged at Troy, shoving him roughly. Troy lost his balance and fell right down the open stairway.

Troy flipped head over heels smashing his back and head various times on the wooden steps that soon folded out into a concrete basement floor that stretched into a concrete basement wall, which Troy managed to smash into both.

He moaned, his entire body aching. He felt a trickle of blood run down the side of his face, which he took no care to wipe off. It slid down his cheek and dripped onto the floor, forming a tiny puddle next to his right ear. Troy breathed deeply, causing his insides to feel like they were splitting and straining and stretching against his rib cage and his now broken rib.

His back relaxed and he breathed in deeply once more. Then, the world faded slowly into black.

----

The weekend passed with flying colors and Monday came sooner than Troy had hoped; he had stayed at home all weekend, nursing his wounds that had hardly begun to heal. As soon as he got out of his car on Monday morning, he made his way into the school, hoping to avoid immediate confrontation with his friends.

To Troy's complete dismay, his father's flying fist had clipped the side of his face, blotching the skin purple and black. Luckily, it wasn't very noticeable… if you were on his left side, that is. So Troy's plan was to keep everyone on his left side the whole day.

Okay, so his planned sucked. Do you have a better one?

As Troy walked down the hall, he pushed on the tender bruise tentatively. He winced but kept moving, avoiding the looks on people's faces as they walked by him. As Troy passed the theater, a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and he was yanked inside. No one noticed his loud yelp in the confusion of the hallway.

The theater was dark; the lights had yet to be turned on. Troy whipped around and looked into the brown eyes of his attacker: Sharpay. Even though she was shrouded in the shadows, Troy could tell her make-up was pristine and her hair was absolutely flawless; she was perfect. The kind of guy he needed to be.

"Troy," Sharpay said, in a soothing, sad voice. She looked at the side of his face, her eyes obviously used to the dimmed light and graced it with a soft, manicured hand. "Come on. Let's get some make-up on that."

"Ryan told you, didn't he?" Troy asked Sharpay as she dug through her backpack to grab some stage make-up. Sharpay looked up at him with large, sad, brown eyes and shook her head.

"_Chad_ told me this morning."

"Shar…" Troy began, but she cut him off, still searching through her backpack. "I think it's stupid, Troy. You should really tell someone."

"It's not that simple, Shar," Troy said exasperatedly as Sharpay pulled the make-up out of the bag. "If I told, he'd be gone forever. I can't do that to him."

"What will you be missing?" Sharpay asked, dabbing a bit on his face. "Your nightly beating?" Troy winced not only at the pain, but at the words, too. She was so… calm about it that it nerved Troy.

"He's still my dad, Shar," Troy said acidly. "I owe him something."

"Yeah," Sharpay snorted. "A 'Thank you for beating me, Dad! I really enjoy it!'"

"Sharpay, stop!" Troy growled, pulling away from the make-up. "I don't want you to come tell me how to run my life. I know what I'm doing and I know the price, okay? Don't come in here and act like you know what I'm going through because you don't, and I'm _going_ to keep my mouth shut."

"I think you're ruining your life, Troy," Sharpay said, not taking in his words seriously.

"I don't think I asked you," Troy snapped indifferently. Sharpay looked taken back and stared at him, tears welling in her eyes. She was crying not only because Troy's words were so harsh, but also that the things being done to Troy were just so unfair. Troy's face fell and he pulled her into a hug whispering, "I'm sorry. I'm just… stressed."

Sharpay sat there, sniffling as he wrapped his arms around her. "Stressed or not, Troy, he's your father and he shouldn't be doing this to you." She pushed herself out of his embrace, grabbed her backpack and stomped out of the room, letting the theater doors swing shut behind her, swallowing Troy in the darkness.

----

Troy traveled down the hallway, lost in thought. The floor zipped under his feet as he moved. As soon as he lifted his head, he had wished dearly that he hadn't. His father was heading straight down the hall, making a beeline path for him. Troy opened his mouth but shut it again and decided to make a detour away.

He ran around a corner, looking over his shoulder for his promptly approaching father. Quickly, he dashed out of Jack's line of vision and fled to a large door that clicked open at his lightest touch. Troy ran through it and sprinted up the staircase, the concrete damp with the past few days rain.

He made it to the top and stopped abruptly, his feet grinding to a squeaking halt that the brunette paid no attention to. She was sitting with her back towards him, humming a song, and staring out onto the landscape that stretched below her.

Gabriella looked softly upon Troy's face and he stared at her, tears welled in his eyes. He sniffled and gave a weak smile, "Fancy seeing you here."

"Yeah," Gabriella said, giving him the same look as before. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah," Troy said with a false nod.

"Okay," Gabriella said slowly, not believing Troy one bit. "Hey… we should catch a movie sometime this week."

Troy gulped. He had made a decision one of his restless nights (One that, I'm afraid, you readers will not enjoy), but he hoped that it wouldn't've arisen so soon. It wasn't even first period on Monday!

"Um, Gabi… about that," Troy said, walking over to the balcony part that overlooked the stairs. He rested his hands on the bar and took a deep breath, about to make one of the worst decisions of his life. "I don't think we should… see each other."

"What?" Gabriella breathed.

"Not yet," Troy added quickly. "Just… can we hold it off for a bit?"

Gabriella looked mortified at Troy, who didn't even turn in her direction. She walked up to him, tears forming in her eyes and she asked, "So that's it? After you- after… after you give me my _first _kiss, you decided to dump me like that?"

"Gabriella!" Troy said. "You have to understand me, I _want _to go out with you…"

"So why don't you?" Gabriella asked acidly.

Troy bit his lower lip. How do you say "I don't want to put you in danger of my abusive father" without letting slip the "I don't want to put you in danger of my abusive father" part?

"Not now, Gabi," Troy said with a sigh. "Later but not now. Believe me, I would date you now if I could… but…just… not now."

Gabriella looked at Troy and raised her palm. Troy saw it out of the corner of his eye and cringed so deeply that Gabriella paused. She lowered her palm and asked, "Troy…"

Troy gathered himself up and said, "Were you going to…"

"Yeah!" Gabriella said with a bit of defiance toning her voice. "And I'm going to finish it, too."

Gabriella slapped Troy hard across the face. Troy's face flipped to the side and his hand flew to his jawbone. He looked at Gabriella, his eyes filled with pure undeniable fear. Gabriella instantly felt sorry for what she had done and stared at her hand in horror. Troy opened and closed his mouth many times and tried to get words to form. In the end, he just shook his head and headed down the stairs. Troy stopped and looked up at her and said, "I thought you were better than that," before disappearing down the staircase.

"I did, too," Gabriella said, a tear spilling down her face. "I did, too."

**Author's Note: You probably want to strangle me with my mouse cord right now. I understand, but I wouldn't considering you need me to finish the story. Tell me what you thought! It wasn't my favorite chapter but, I didn't despise it. Review por favor!**


	8. Chapter Seven: He's My Dad

**Chapter Seven: He's My Dad**

Troy walked around in an absolute daze that day. Nothing that anyone said or did snapped him out of his sleep-like state. Chad hardly spoke to him but looked at him with gloomy eyes, afraid that anything he said or did would upset Troy even more.

At lunchtime, Troy sat at the table and slowly unfolded the top of his paper bag. He looked around at the lunch table (everyone minus Gabriella) who were staring at him with the same distressing eyes that Chad was giving him earlier. Troy sighed and shut his lunch, asking, "Okay, who knows?"

Slowly, every hand at the table raised a tad bit and they all looked guiltily at Troy. Troy groaned and put his head into his folded arms at the table. Kelsi pat Troy lightly on the back and Troy winced. Kelsi withdrew her hand quickly and shook her head.

"Is it _that _bad?" She asked. Troy shook his head but didn't remove it from his arms. His muffled voice radiated through his temporary headrest, "No."

"Troy, you need to _tell _someone," Ryan said, shaking his head disapprovingly.

Troy picked his head up, his face lined with anger. "So, you guys have been in this position?" They all remained silent. "Oh, because you're acting like you have been."

"Troy, we're trying to help," Zeke said, offended. "We don't want to see you get hurt!"

"Don't give advice if you don't know what you're talking about, guys!" Troy snapped. "This is harder than it seems, okay?"

"Troy, this is simple," Sharpay said softly. "Your father is-…" 

"Shar!" Troy cut her off. "I _know _what my father is doing! I _don't _want to talk about it!"

"Troy, we're worried about you!" Jason defended.

"But when you didn't know, you guys didn't care!" Troy said. "I'm fine like I was then. I don't need help."

"_You_ don't. Your dad does," Taylor said. "He can't just do that to you, Troy!"

"Oh, yeah?" Troy snapped. "Watch him."

"I did."

Everyone turned to Chad who spoke to his lap and then brought his head up slowly, his eyes brimmed with sadistic wisdom. He shook his head at Troy and said, "I watched it, Troy. It's bad. Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because you guys would do _this_!" Troy sighed angrily. "I don't need sympathy, guys. The way I look at it, without my dad, I have no family. He's my dad. I need him."

"What do you _need _him for Troy?" Ryan barked. "Your nightly beatings?"

"Look at it this way, " Troy said sadly. "I hurt Gabi, I get hurt back. I deserve it."

He got up from the table and walked away limping, leaving his friends alone at the table, staring around stunned to silence. The confusion of the cafeteria overwhelmed them until it finally got to the point that the whole table turned back to their lunches and ate in complete silence, Troy's words ringing in their ears:

"He's my dad. He's my dad."

And that's what was so unfair about it.

----

The metal stung his back with the intensity of a million volts of electricity. Each time the buckle hit him, Troy cried out in pain. Before, the paper-thin layer of his shirt that covered his back was a slight protector from the pain but now he was standing in his living room, barebacked, a belt being whipped to him.

What seemed like hours to Troy, turned to only be minutes and finally he fell forward onto his knees, his back hunched over, defeated. But Jack didn't take this as a time to stop, no. Jack took the belt buckle and hit Troy hard across the spine with it. Troy cried out in pain and his dad only smiled. Those yells were his victory; he knew that he won. One more belt buckle to Troy's rib cage and Jack walked out, leaving his son in middle of their living room floor, bleeding, beaten, and bruised.

And he didn't care one bit.

The thing about Jack Bolton was that he had stopped caring after a while. He didn't care about his wife, his job, his home, his family, his son, or his life. The only thing that Jack clung onto was winning and the thrill that he got when he knew his son was in line.

Another thing about Jack Bolton was that he was certifiably insane. He would get set off over small things like an unclean dish or cold coffee in his coffee cup. Most of the time, his anger was shown through the only thing he knew anymore: his strength.

His strength was what made him who he was, what made him the man that he had become to be. Constantly, he showed his strength, whether it be by lifting heavy things around his office, or beating Troy over the back with a belt.

Jack was as unfeeling as a rock and his muscles were the same. He was indifferent, cruel, manipulative, and evil. The way his mind worked was a simple one-tracked thing: You make him mad he beats his son. And he didn't want anyone to mess with his methods.

….

Troy knelt on his living room floor, forcing himself not to cry. He felt numb and cold. He felt unwanted and ashamed. Troy Bolton felt worthless and unneeded and Troy Bolton wanted his life to end.

The only thing he clung to (quite to the contrary of his father) was his friends. Without them, Troy would've let go a long time ago and God only knew how awful things would get after that. Every time he got a fist to the face, or a belt to the back, his friends' faces popped up in his mind and he hung on until his father left him to sit by himself.

Quite contrary to your belief, Troy hated this part, when his father left him. It only gave him time to hate his dad and time to brood in his own self-pity. He didn't _want _to hate his father and he tried with every fiber of his being not to. He didn't _want _to brood in self-pity because he felt he didn't need it. People were dying everyday and sometimes, Troy felt it was the thing that kept him going: his pain.

The odd thing about today though was, Troy asked his father to beat him. He purposefully made his father angry as to get a punishment. Odd, I know. Troy couldn't live with himself for what he had done to Gabriella and he felt so awful that he sat there; shirt off his back while his father whipped him again and again.

It sounds brutal to you, or any other normal person, but to Troy, this was his life. You do something wrong, you get beaten. Troy had just broken someone's heart and what was worse was that that was the girl that he loved. To go through this pain for her was small. To go through the pain of knowing he was the one who had down, was inimitable.

Troy Bolton felt that he no longer deserved to live.

He hung his head and whispered to his bruised chest, "I'm sorry, Gabriella."

----

Taylor sat on her bed, typing away on her laptop. She smiled, having finished an extra credit essay; exactly 1697 words long. Taylor wiggled in her bed, her mind flying to subjects she did not want to face and she flipped on the light next to her bed.

Her phone began to ring and Taylor let it. She didn't want to talk on the phone right then. Then her cell phone rang and Gabriella's face popped up on the screen. Taylor sighed and hit Talk knowing that she'd have to listen to her someday.

"Hello?"

"Taylor, it's Gabriella," Gabriella said. She sounded as if she had been crying. "Did you hear about what happened?"

Of course Taylor heard what happened. It was between her best friend and the boy she loved. Can you say "obvious much?" "No. What happened?"

"Well, I told Troy we should go to a movie sometime," Gabriella sniffled hysterically. "And right after he said 'No'! He said 'Not now' or some other load of crap that I don't believe. How could he? After he _kissed _me?"

"Well, did he have a reason?" Taylor asked, spinning her shirt in circle around her finger. If only Gabriella knew, she wouldn't be so irrational. Wait. Did Gabriella even know?

"He just said 'Believe me, I want to but I can't' or something," Gabriella sniffled. "Why would he do that to me?"

"You might want to go ask him, Gabriella," Taylor said. She knew it wasn't her business to tell; Gabriella would have to find out for herself. "Go down to his house and talk to him. I'm sure he wants to explain!" _Considering he thinks that it's okay for him to be beaten over what he did to you._

"I don't want to talk to that arrogant jerk!" Gabriella cried. "He'll just try to kiss and leave! Just like last time! Gosh, it made me so _mad_!"

"Well, I'm sure you handled it nice enough that he'll talk to you like a person," Taylor soothed.

"No!" Gabriella said. "I handled it like a stinkin' _cheerleader; _that's how mad I was!"

Taylor almost dropped her phone. "What do you mean?"

"Taylor, I _slapped _him!" Gabriella cried, once again in hysterics. "I was just so mad that I lost control and _slapped _him! …You should've seen his face, Tay. He looked so _hurt_. I didn't even hit him that hard!"

"It doesn't matter how hard you hit him," Taylor said as calmly as she could. "What you did was bad, Gabriella. Worse than you think. Go talk to Troy… but-uh- don't _knock_. Just walk in, okay?"

"Um… okay?" Gabriella said confused. "Thanks, Tay."

"Yeah."

They hung up. Gabriella stared amazed at the phone. What had she done? She ran around searching for car keys and a coat, not even bothering to get her license. She ran to the car and hopped in, starting it and driving madly off to Troy's house.

---

Gabriella parked in front of the Bolton house, noticing that Mr. Bolton's car was missing from the driveway. She shrugged and made her way to the door. As soon as she stepped up to it, she raised her hand to knock. But then, remembering Taylor's command, she just turned the knob and swung open the door, wishing immediately that she had never opened it in the first place.

Troy was collapsed on the ground; his shirt lay in a heap beside him. A belt lay feet away, thrown carelessly onto the wooden floor. Troy's back was adorned with bruises and they didn't seem to stop there. The purple, black, and blue ran around his entire torso and onto his arms and neck. Gabriella felt tears spring into her eyes and she cried, "Troy!"

She ran over and fell onto her knees beside him. Gently, she turned him over so that his battered back hit the floor. Troy moaned loudly, his eyes clamped tight. Gabriella looked mortified. She gently led his head so that it lay in her lap and she brushed stray locks of brown hair out of his face. "No, _don't_!" Troy begged. "Please!"

"No, Troy, it's me," Gabriella cooed. "It's me. It's Gabriella."

"Gabriella?" Troy's eyes snapped open. He looked at Gabriella's face, his own lined with guilt and pain. He let out a mortified whisper. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry about what?" Gabriella asked, her concerns that held her earlier were now specks in the past compared to this. "Never mind. Troy… I need to get you to the hospital. Come on."

"No!" Troy cried. With Gabriella's help, he pulled his torso off the ground and used his hand to prop himself up. "No! We can't go to the hospital and what-what are you doing here? What if he comes home?"

"What if… your _dad _comes home?" Gabriella asked. "He'd want to get help, too!"

"You don't know, do you?" Troy asked softly.

Gabriella shook her head, letting loose a few tears. Troy sighed and propped himself against the couch behind him. He winced and then said, "This _was _my dad."

"You mean… he… what?" Gabriella babbled.

"I know," Troy said. "It's hard to believe, but Gabriella, you have to get yourself out of here."

"I'm not leaving you alone, Troy!" Gabriella cried. "Who knows what would happen?"

"I do."

Jack Bolton smiled down on his son and his friend from the doorway.

**Author's Note:** **He always seems to come at a bad time, huh? Now, this chapter, as you can probably tell, was sheer desperation for something to write so it was not my best. So sorry! Tell me your likes, dislikes, angers, hatreds, etc. Just click the Go button and type away! Thanks!**


	9. Chapter Eight: Happy Ending

**Chapter Eight: Happy Ending**

Troy scrambled to his feet, slipping his shirt on over his head with fumbling fingers. He let the cloth slide smoothly down his back and tugged it over his battered torso, masking the bruises behind it. Gabriella still sat on the ground, numb with fear and shock. Troy held out a hand. Instead of taking it, Gabriella just gaped slack jawed at Mr. Bolton. Troy, frustrated, grabbed her hand and pulled her off the ground.

Gabriella gathered herself as quickly as her frozen body would allow. She leaned against Troy, waiting to regain support from her weakened legs. Troy put his hand in hers and drew circles on her hand with his thumb. The pressure, weak as it was, was almost unbearable to Gabriella. She gasped and pulled her hand away. Troy looked at her, fear lined in his eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her… especially in a physical sense.

Mr. Bolton pulled himself heavily off of the doorframe and walked over to the two teens. He circled them, much like a bird of carnage circling its prey, and chuckled lightly. Gabriella could see in Troy's expression that he was scared but his demeanor showed nothing of the sort. She slipped her hand in his, causing him to wince in his fear.

"So, Troy," Mr. Bolton chuckled. "Have you told everyone?"

"He hasn't told anyone!" Gabriella stated boldly. "They all figured it out!"

"He hasn't told anyone _but you_, you mean?" Jack asked. Gabriella hesitated. "How do I trust that he hasn't told anyone else, when I just watched him tell you?"

Gabriella remained silent for a moment and Troy squeezed her hand a bit harder. It was obvious that he was loosing his calm demeanor and he was starting to panic. Gabriella looked at Troy's face and turned to Mr. Bolton, fire igniting her anger, "I'm not letting you get away with this! Look at him! Look at his face! I have never seen him so scared! And because of his own father? You're a sick man."

"You aren't letting me get away with it?" Mr. Bolton laughed. "Sweetheart, if I can make Troy keep his mouth shut _most of the time_ then what makes you think I can't keep _you_ silent?"

"Because Troy doesn't want to lose his father," Gabriella said gravely. "I could care less about what happens to you as long as Troy is okay."

"But," Mr. Bolton said, walking closer to them. "Troy cares about what happens to you, doesn't he? And you about him?"

"Exactly why I would _get rid of you_!"

"But what would happen if someday, _maybe_- just maybe- I went a little haywire?" Mr. Bolton asked rhetorically. "What would happen if I hit his-say… neck? What would you do then?"

Gabriella remained silent, appalled. She looked at Troy who wouldn't look her into the eye, which Gabriella was afraid of. He was hiding something in them that he didn't want her to see: he was hiding fear- pure undeniable fear, desperation, and misery. He wanted nothing more then for Gabriella to be quiet for everything she said would make him pay tenfold what was already coming to him.

"Why are you _doing _this?" Gabriella whispered, mortified. Tears filled her eyes like water fills a cup and they threatened to overflow quickly and one look at Troy's face made them spill. Mr. Bolton leaned into Gabriella's horrified face and whispered in her ear, "Because…I… can."

Mr. Bolton raised his arm in rage and Troy tugged mercilessly at Gabriella's arm. She was almost yanked off her feet and tugged behind Troy. His strong arms locked her behind his back and Troy growled, "Don't touch her."

"Again with the nobility, Troy," Mr. Bolton said. "I'm touched. But do you really think that's going to help?"

"I think that if you touch her, I'll call the police."

"I think I'll beat the crap out of you if you do."

"That's not going to make the police forget what I said."

Mr. Bolton and Troy stared back at each other with the same looks: hatred, but something in between the stare was different. Troy looked at his father with a genuine look of pain or his face. It contorted his handsome features until Gabriella new that she was surely going to cry.

"Just let Gabriella leave," Troy snarled. "Or I will."

"You can't scare me, Troy," Mr. Bolton said. "Tell me, if I'm gone, where are you?"

"Anywhere without you is fine with me!" Troy shouted.

"Don't speak to me that way!" Mr. Bolton shouted back.

"Dad, please. She hasn't _done _anything!" Troy had tears streaming down his cheeks. "Let her _go!_"

Mr. Bolton shook his head and smiled evilly. "Troy, let go of the girl."

"No!"

"Troy, _now!_"

"Make me!"

"Fine!"

Mr. Bolton reached out to grab Troy and Troy's fast hands reached out and grabbed his father's fist. Troy smiled and said, "I don't think so. It's not going to be that easy anymore. I'm not going to let you just beat me up anymore."

Jack then used his other fist to punch Troy square in the jaw. Gabriella let out a scream and covered her mouth with her hands. Troy staggered and came back up, rubbing his jaw. "You can do better than that, can't you?"

Jack let out a howl of rage and punched again. Troy fell at this. Gabriella went to the floor after Troy, screaming. Troy wiped a bit of blood off of his lip and looked up at Jack, horrified. Gabriella was on her knees; Troy's head had fallen into her lap. Gabriella looked up at Jack, anger lining her face, "You monster."

"_I'm _the monster here?" Jack yelled. "I've been taunted and fooled and made into a mockery by my son but _I'm _the monster?"

"You are beating _your son_!" Gabriella shouted. "How is that excusable?"

Mr. Bolton howled in anger and grabbed Gabriella by her wrists. He wrenched her off the floor quickly and Gabriella yelped in fear. Mr. Bolton shook her and yelled, "What do you know, you little slut? You don't know anything!"

"Don't touch her!" Troy got shakily to his feet. He stood his ground and said, "It's not her you want. It's me."

Mr. Bolton stared into Gabriella's terrified eyes and let her go, pushing her so that she fell to the ground heavily. Mr. Bolton paced over to Troy and whispered into his ear, "You don't want to do this."

"Yeah," Troy whispered back with a smirk. "I do."

Mr. Bolton raised his fist and Gabriella shouted, "Wait!" Mr. Bolton and Troy froze and stared at Gabriella. "I'll make a deal."

"I don't need to make a deal!"

"You don't beat Troy," Gabriella started, ignoring Mr. Bolton. Tears were forming in her eyes. "But you can have me."

Mr. Bolton started to mull it over and Troy shouted. "No! Gabi, don't!"

"I want to do this, Troy."

"I can take this, Gabi," Troy said, straining to see Gabriella over his father's body. "You can't! Go! Get out of here!"

"Oh, no, you don't!" Mr. Bolton lunged for Gabriella and Troy grabbed the back of his father's shirt. Mr. Bolton growled and flipped around to Troy. Gabriella pressed herself against the wall and began to cry silently.

Gabriella realized that Troy wasn't going to let himself off the hook and that he wasn't going to let Gabriella get hurt. But she was stuck in a horrified trance… watching…

As Troy got beaten.

---

The television was turned on, the lights flashing around the room. The sound rolled around the room in a rickety roll as Gabriella flicked through the channels as quickly as she could. She heard the buzz of her microwave and the door pop open as someone pressed on the button. Gabriella smiled as the smell of popcorn filled her nose.

"Crap!" She heard a yell from the kitchen. Gabriella whipped around on her spot in the couch and said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine!" She heard Troy say. "I burnt my finger on the popcorn!"

"You dork!" Gabriella called laughing. Troy walked in, popcorn bowl in one hand, his finger stuffed in his mouth. He popped it out and waved it around wildly. "Hmm… That looks interesting," He said as he looked at the burn. Gabriella looked at it and gasped. The skin had been burnt until it was slightly purple; the skin around it bright red.

"Oh my gosh! Let me grab something!" Gabriella scrambled off the couch and towards the bathroom medicine cabinet. Troy grabbed the back of her shirt, pulled her backwards, and said, "Don't worry about it. I've had worse than this."

Gabriella tried to shake Troy off but his strong hands stayed clamped on the back of her shirt. She turned around and tried to pry it off but only succeeded in hitting Troy in the face as she came around. Troy backed up, terror filling his eyes.

"Troy, I'm so…" Gabriella said through her hands, which she had slapped to her face in embarrassment. Troy stopped her. "You didn't mean to. No big deal." He sat on the couch heavily and put his hand to his cheek gingerly.

"It is a big deal!" Gabriella said, sitting next to him and gently taking his hand. She felt Troy flinch. "Troy, you have to tell someone."

"What?" Troy asked. "No way!"

"Troy, you just flinched! All I did was grab your hand!" Gabriella shouted angrily, throwing Troy's hand in his lap. She stood up in her fit of anger. Troy stood up next to her and shook his head. "It's a just reflex, Gabi!"

"It shouldn't _be _a reflex, Troy!" Gabriella shouted. "Most people wouldn't cringe in fear if I held their hand!"

"Well, I'm not _most people_, Gabi!" Troy shouted back. "I'm _me!_ I'm Troy Bolton. I'm _not _most people and I'm _not _going to act like most people!"

"If you don't tell, I will!"

"Gabriella, you wouldn't." Troy's tone had changed from angry to afraid at the drop of a hat. Gabriella looked at Troy dead in the eye and said, "I would. I'm not going to see you get hurt anymore!"

"You don't have to see it if you don't pay attention!" Troy shouted, his angry demeanor returning.

Gabriella shot Troy an angry look before retorting, "Ignorance may be bliss, Troy, but at some point you're going to have to face the facts and realize that it'll only get worse the longer you wait… and the worse it gets, the harder it'll be to let go."

Troy opened his mouth to retort back but was cut off by the ringing phone. Troy sighed; Trivia Night had begun. The group had trivia night once a month. Each of the gang would call another pair or people and they would ask questions about themselves. If the question was answered wrong, the person would have to do whatever the other person asked for a week.

"Yes, Chad?" Gabriella asked when she answered the phone. Chad laughed and said, "What number am I thinking of?"

"Between what two numbers?" Troy asked, as Gabriella set it on speakerphone.

"Darn!" Taylor muttered, as she and Chad were always together on trivia night. "Why does Troy have to be there?

"Between… one and infinity!" Chad said happily, sure that he had fooled the pair. Gabriella opened her mouth, "That's not-…"

"Thirty-two."

"Damn it!" They hung up. Troy chuckled and rubbed a hand through his hair. Gabriella shook her head and walked into the kitchen. Troy sighed and sat on the couch heavily. He looked at the television and immediately turned it off. He heard Gabriella's voice from the kitchen.

"Why'd you turn it off?"

"Umm… There's nothing on."

"Why don't you go grab a movie?" Gabriella asked. Troy heard glasses clinking around in the background. Troy stood up. "There's a couple in my room that we could watch."

Troy walked up the stairs and disappeared onto the second story. Gabriella rushed into the living room, leaving the sink running, and turned on the television. It flashed brightly in the dark night and the picture swarmed in front of her.

"-Call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline! This has become a growing conflict in the nation. Physical abuse has been skyrocketing. There has been reported: beatings, whippings, even burning with cigarette butts and hot water. Please do as we ask and call us at-"

"Sorry, I took so long!" Troy said. "I couldn't find the movie."

Gabriella spun around, clicking off the TV. She nodded and gulped, asking, "What'd you grab?" Troy held up a movie. "The Little Mermaid."

"Oh! That's my favorite movie!" Gabriella squealed. Troy nodded. He put the disc in the DVD player and the movie started up. Troy threw himself on the couch and Gabriella snuggled closer to him. As gently as she could, she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Troy gave a small flinch but let her lie down comfortably. He closed his eyes and let his hand rest on Gabriella's stomach lightly.

The movie was about to end and Gabriella sighed contentedly. She looked up at Troy, who shook his head but still smiled as the picture rolled on. Gabriella stared at him and asked, "What?"

Troy shook his head and gave a grim look. "I don't believe in happy endings."

Gabriella felt her heart get heavy with remorse. "Why not?" She questioned, her voice sad enough to be apparent to Troy. He shook of her grievance and said, "Because I never got one."

Gabriella grabbed his hand and they both fell fast asleep, lying in each other's arms.

---

"Where the hell _were _you last night, Troy?"

"I was out with my friends!" Troy shouted. "I told you!"

"I told you not to _go_ anywhere last night!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Sorry isn't good enough, Troy!" Jack threw his hands in the air. "I never thought you could be so stupid! When will you learn?"

Troy came home to his father sitting at the kitchen table, his feet up on the table as if hygiene were nothing. There was a cigarette in between his fingers, smoke lazily drifting around the kitchen. Troy coughed and waved his hand through the air, trying to clear the smoke. "Are you _smoking_?"

He reached to the window above the sink and pulled it open, yelping in pain and grasping at his chest. Even moving his arms above his head would set off the broken rib. Finally, very painfully, he pushed the window open and the smoke wafted out of the room while Jack sat at the table, smoking away at his new cigarette.

"Come here, Troy," Jack wheezed with a smile that made Troy want to hide under his covers in his room. Not that _that _would help much; he didn't have a door. Troy stepped over slowly and stood up straight next to his father.

"There's this thing about smoking," Jack started to explain, brandishing the charred cigarette in the air. "Once you start, it's hard to stop. And you can watch the cigarette as it starts to fade out," He pushed the burning end of the cigarette onto Troy's bare arm. Troy let the cold air slice through his teeth but he didn't move. Jack twisted the butt around and said, "Until it's all… gone."

**Author's Note: Now, I don't want you all to think that I'm some psycho twisted freak for thinking **_**this **_**and (groan right now) the next chapter. The ending of this chapter was inspired by a very sad story I read and the next chapter was inspired (and based off of) an ABC movie. I'll say it now: I'M SORRY, GUYS! I know you must hate me, but if you do, I've done my job! Review please! **


	10. Chapter Nine: Mistakes

**Author's Note: This chapter was based off of an ABC movie and I want Joshua Mc-Something-or-Another's story to be HEARD! (I'm not a freak to think up this kind of stuff. This actually happened to the Joshua guy! The part will be set off by exclamation points.)**

**Chapter Nine: Mistakes**

Lucy Bolton- scratch that- Lucy _Rivers_ just got off the phone with her attorney. The divorce was final and she was free to go about her business as a single woman in California. You may think that she felt remorse about leaving her son and her husband behind so abruptly.

You are thinking wrong.

Lucy Rivers was a dependent party girl that the Jack Bolton was not providing for her the way she demanded. The lying jerk had a girlfriend who was eight months pregnant! Sure, she felt a twinge of guilt for leaving Troy with Jack alone but what else could she do? She needed money for shopping and her other tiny needs. So, leaving her son was the only thing she could do, right?

Lucy pulled her new shades over her blue eyes and walked out her house into the sunny California streets. People bustled on the crowded sidewalks, talking animatedly and navigating through the crowd. Lucy took a right turn and opened up the large door of Miss Beckie's Gossip Parlor, her favorite smoothie place in town.

The bell tinkled as she stepped inside the bright room. People chatted away on cell phones and gathered at the couches like flocks of breads gathering at a piece of bread. They talked, too; Gossip- to be exact. True to its name, Miss Beckie's was a fine place for a nice piece of gossip and where Lucy picked up her first guy.

She ordered a strawberry smoothie to-go and waited impatiently for it to appear, drips of water streaming down its frosted sides, on the counter in front of her. Lucy dropped ten dollars on the counter and lifted her sunglasses over her flowing brown hair, as well as lifting her cup to her lips. Lucy took a long dramatic sip and a long contented sigh. This was worth it.

As she drained the remains of the smoothie, Lucy wondered what her son was doing at that very moment and she began to wonder if her choice to leave him behind was a mistake…

Troy cringed as the belt tightened against his wrists. He struggled to wiggle out of the leather but his father responded by kicking Troy hard in the side. Troy groaned and tried to pull his hand to his side but remembered that his hands were stuck to the bedpost, the leather belt clamping it on.

"I think I've been too soft on you, Troy," Mr. Bolton growled, kicking Troy hard in the chest. Troy groaned and tried to roll away but his restraint tugged at his wrists. Mr. Bolton kicked him once more. "So, I decided on this."

He kicked Troy once again and Troy let out a blood-curdling moan. Jack gave a satisfied smile and stooped down to look Troy in the eyes. "Look at me," He crooned. Troy looked away, his hair flopping over his tired face, tears rolling quickly down his face. "Look at me!" He screamed. Troy pulled his head up and looked his father straight in the eye as the tears left shining streaks on his face.

"Why are you doing this?" Troy whispered hoarsely, sniffling.

Jack looked mildly horrified and backed up away from Troy's face. He didn't speak, pondering the question. Troy kept speaking. "I mean, I know _your _dad whipped you with a belt when you were young… but that was when you did something wrong. What have I _done_?"

"Well, if it isn't as if the mere fact that you _exist_, isn't enough!"

Troy looked wounded by the comment and he asked, "So, why did you _have _me?"

"You were a mistake."

"Mistakes deserve respect, too," Troy said quietly.

"Mistakes like you deserve nothing more than I give you!" Jack shouted and sent another blow to Troy's chest. Troy cried loudly, his shot echoing around the room. Jack smiled evilly. Another kick to the hip and Troy clamped his eyes shut, a grimace twisted his features, and he yelled so loudly that the next-door neighbors could have heard him.

Jack clamped a hand over Troy's mouth quickly and whispered in Troy's ear, "Do that again and you'll be sorry." Troy nodded, shaking tears of grievance out of his blue eyes.

Thirty minutes later, Jack stomped out of the house, heading towards the nearest bar he could find. His car squealed as he made a reckless turn around the corner and down the next street. Little did he know that seconds after he had left the house, someone else entered.

Gabriella snuck into the house as quietly as she could, making sure the heels of her Mary Jane-type shoes were inches off the floor. She tip-toed up the steps and traveled down the hall and into Troy's room. She took note that there was no door as well as no Troy. She opened the bathroom door: only a wet shower and a fogged up mirror. Gabriella slowly opened the last door, dreading what she would see. Once it opened, she gasped so loudly that she was sure that someone in Alaska could hear.

Troy had his hands hanging limply above his head, a belt clamping them onto the bedpost. He had bruises blotching his face, arms and every visible inch of skin. Troy had his head lagged onto his chest, his eyes closed; he was unconscious.

Gabriella ran over next to Troy and collapsed at his side. His chest was moving but just barely and very raggedly. Gabriella placed a hand on his rib cage and even though Troy was unconscious, his body cringed. "Troy? Oh, Troy, please talk!" She shook him gently by the shoulder but with no prevail; Troy wasn't waking up.

Gabriella reached above Troy's wrists and tugged vainly at the belt. No matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't budge. Gabriella reached into her pocket and called a number, "Chad, get over to Troy's house. He's in trouble."

…

Chad flew to Troy's house in a psychotic frenzy. He made it up the stairs and into Mr. Bolton's room within what felt like a mere seconds. When he saw Troy, he froze. What was _that_? Why was he… Chad wouldn't finish his last contemplation. It was too hard for him to process it. Gabriella clung desperately to Troy and looked up at Chad, her face streamed with tears. "Help me," She whispered.

Chad tried to rip the belt off of his best friend's wrist with no success. He ran into the kitchen, grabbed the sharpest knife he found and rushed back upstairs. As quickly and carefully as he could, Chad slipped the knife under the leather of the belt and sawed it slowly until it broke and Troy's arms fell limply to his sides. Gabriella let out a sob and clutched at Troy's chest.

Chad stared amazed, but even in his dumbstruck position, he managed to pat Gabriella on the back. Gabriella sobbed and turned to Chad, wiping her tears off her face, "We need to get him out of here. If his dad comes back, I don't want to know what will happen."

"Then we need to wake him up," Chad said. "I can't carry him by myself and by the time I call Jason, Ryan, and Zeke, Coach may be home. Come on, Gabriella. Help me."

Gabriella nodded and moved blindly down the hallway, tears swarming in her eyes. Tears started oddly for Gabriella: first they began in her chest, buzzing like a swarm of bees. Next, they would travel up her throat like an ice storm chilling the lining and making it hard to swallow. Finally, the tears would come pouring out of her eyes like leaking faucets and she could never get them to come off. Gabriella found that when she saw Troy lying there helplessly, she had skipped steps one and two and immediately began to cry.

There was something about seeing her best friend tied to a bedpost that upset her, as I hope you understand. Troy was always the strong one, but lying there vulnerable and powerless was something that made Gabriella weep. It was as if her rock, her protection was defeated. And what was worse was that it was his own father.

She ran into the bathroom and grabbed a plastic cup off of the edge of the sink. Gabriella smiled through her tears at the cup, because Troy had always complained about the stupid, pink glass that he used to rinse his mouth after brushing his teeth, but he would never throw it away because it was a part of his past and getting rid of it would be like getting rid of an old friend. Gabriella gulped, wondering how hard it would be for Troy to let go of a father…

…

After about twenty minutes, Troy arose of his own accord, moaning and yelping. He wrung his wrists with his hands and stared up guiltily at his friends, "Hello."

"Troy…" Gabriella said softly, sniffling faintly. Chad cut her off and helped Troy off the floor slowly. Troy groaned but then shut his mouth quickly, looking up at Chad was scared eyes. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Troy said quickly. "I was just… never mind."

"Come on," Chad said. "Let's get you over to your house, Chad. The gang's there. They'll know what to do."

Chad started to help Troy but Troy stood his ground, staring worriedly at Chad and Gabriella. Gabriella sighed and said, "Chad's parents are gone for the night. Everyone is over there for a party. Let's go now."

Slowly as they could, Chad and Gabriella helped Troy into the car. Troy didn't make a grunt or a moan as they went, which surprised both Chad and Gabriella. Chad knew that he would be screaming and complaining the whole time and Gabriella was positive that she would be sobbing at this point.

Chad shut Troy's car door and got into the front seat. Gabriella scooted in next to Troy, taking his hand gently. Troy flinched and pulled away and Gabriella looked helplessly up at Chad who had already started the car. Chad turned the keys in the ignition and the car stopped again. Troy looked at Chad.

"What happened?" Troy asked.

"Exactly, Troy," Chad asked. "What happened in there?"

"In where?" Troy asked.

"Troy, this isn't a time to joke," Gabriella said sternly. "This is serious. What happened?"

Troy sighed and looked out the window. "I got what I deserved, I guess."

"You _deserved_?" Gabriella asked incredulously. "You _deserved _to be tied to a bedpost and beaten?"

"Gabriella, please…" Troy began.

"No, Troy!" Gabriella shouted, tears falling down her face again. "I'm tired of keeping this quiet! You need help!"

"I don't need help, Gabriella!" Troy said. "I'm fine."

"It doesn't _look _like it!" Chad shouted.

"It shouldn't look like _anything _to you!" Troy retorted back. "You aren't supposed to know!"

"We were both almost hurt by your dad, Troy," Gabriella said softer now. "Chad and I. That isn't normal… your dad's a monster."

"No, he's _not_!" Troy screamed. The car fell silent. "You don't even know what you're talking about! He's still my dad!"

"How can you stick _up _for him?" Chad asked loudly. "After he did all that to you!"

"Chad, it's not his fault," Troy said quietly, looking out the window once again.

"Then whose fault is it, Troy?" Chad asked angrily.

Troy slowly turned his head towards his friend, a tear leaking down his face. "It's mine."

"Troy, this isn't your fault!" Gabriella said, as Chad angrily fired up the car and headed towards his house. Chad just shook his head and kept on driving. If Troy was going to be stubborn, let him. It's what he wants. "Your dad may make it seem like that but it's not true! You haven't done anything to deserve this!"

"Yes, I have, Gabriella," Troy said sadly. "I really have."

"What? What did you do that was so awful to deserve this?" Gabriella screamed, tears running down her face.

"I lived."

…

"This is getting ridiculous!" Sharpay shouted, slamming her hands down on the coffee table. "Why has he let it go on for so long?"

Troy had gone into Chad's bedroom and lied down to sleep. The gang agreed wholeheartedly. The guy deserved it for all the exhaustion he had gone through. The minute Troy's head his Chad's pillow, he felt fast asleep, raggedly breathing in his slumber.

"I don't get it," Ryan said slowly. "Why won't he tell someone?"

"He feels that he deserves it or something!" Chad shouted, throwing his hands in the air.

Gabriella sat on the couch, silently staring out the window, lost in a trail of thoughts. Taylor sat next to her rubbing Gabriella's back soothingly but her concern was lost on her face that was twisted into a pure look of annoyance. Chad was pacing around the room like a dog chasing its tail and Ryan stood next to the couch, leaning against the wall. Sharpay, Kelsi, and Jason had situated themselves around the coffee table comfortably, getting ready for what was sure to be a long night.

"_Deserves_ it?" Zeke asked. "Deserves getting _beaten_?"

"Apparently!" Chad wasn't just annoyed; he was furious. That was his best friend and having someone do that to Troy was so angering that Chad almost told the police. He didn't according to his friend's wish but Chad wasn't buying it anymore. He wanted to call.

"What happened when you walked in?" Kelsi asked Gabriella. Gabriella opened her mouth to speak but couldn't get out any words. Instead, a sob escaped her lips and she buried her head into her hands. Chad looked despairingly over at Gabriella and tried to fill in as much as he knew.

"Well, Gabriella had gone to check up on Troy before she headed here and when she got to the front door, she heard him screaming. That scared her a lot, so naturally, she wanted to know what was going on but she was afraid of what would happen to her if she went into the house…"

"I was so _selfish_!" Gabriella sobbed.

"Gabriella, anyone would've done it," Jason said. "It was the right thing to do. Besides, I know Coach. He could've broken your neck. And if he knocked Troy out cold, he could do the same to you. No hesitations."

"Well, I waited for him to leave and snuck into the house as quietly as I could," Gabriella started to fill in her story. Chad sat down now, waiting to hear what hadn't been filled in to him before. "I checked Troy's room and the bathroom and then I found Troy… Guys, it was horrible. He was knocked out and his arms were tied above his head. He was covered in bruises, and… it was awful. I couldn't get the belt off and I called Chad, knowing he would answer his phone immediately. The belt was so tight that Chad had to cut it off with a butcher knife from the kitchen!

"Well, finally we got off the belt and tried to wake him up. It wasn't working-not water or shaking or anything. So we waited for Troy to wake up and I bandaged him up a bit because he was in such bad shape. Finally he woke up and moaned a lot so I was scared stiff. Troy, _the _Troy, was in so much pain…"

"It was so weird," Chad recalled. "Troy moaned and I swear to you, he looked terrified. He looked at me like I was going to beat him. It took him so long it make it to the car… He wouldn't even make a noise."

"Are you serious?" Sharpay asked. "I would've been screaming and shouting and making a huge scene out of it!"

"I could tell he _wanted _to, but he wouldn't," Gabriella said. "I think he's afraid we'll get mad at him or something." Gabriella's face fell and she turned to the entire gang. "Do you know what he said? He said that it was _his _fault that his dad is beating him!"

"How is it _his _fault?" Ryan asked.

"He lived, apparently," Chad said.

The room fell silent and Taylor scoffed really loudly. "This is so stupid!"

"Huh?"

"I mean, Mr. Bolton would never do that!" Taylor said. "I've known his parents since I was five! Mr. Bolton isn't the type!"

"I _saw _it, Taylor!" Gabriella said loudly. "I _saw _it!"

"Maybe he was provoked!"

"Provoked or not, he shouldn't do it!" Zeke said.

Taylor scowled and scoffed and then said, "It seems like such an act by now."

"What?" Gabriella asked dubiously.

"Oh, come on!" Taylor shouted, throwing her hands in the air. "You know he's just searching for attention!"

"I guess I could be," a voice said. Everyone turned to see Troy leaning heavily on the doorframe. He got up and limped slightly into the room. "All of this could be a ploy for attention."

"Troy, shut up," Sharpay said. "You know that's not true."

"For all you know, it could be true."

"Troy, stop!" Kelsi said. "We all know that this is really happening. You wouldn't make something up like that!"

"Yes, he would!" Taylor said. "He's always liked attention, guys. He basically just admitted it!"

Chad turned to Taylor, his face twisted in anger. His voice shook as he said, "Get out."

Taylor looked astounded. "What?"

"Get out of my house."

**Author's Note: A small cliffy. Again, I am not a twisted freak. Be aware! Poor Joshua Something! Please review! Oh, and remember that little fact about the girlfriend somewhere in the begin? That will be returning… possibly… maybe… just might. REVIEW!**


	11. Chapter Ten: Sink or Swim

**Author's Note: My friend CooCoo is a twisted freak with a slight sense of humor. She made me write this chapter or she was going to bite me. She bit me anyway, but the chapter stayed…. I'm sorry.**

**Chapter Ten: Sink or Swim**

Taylor stood stunned in her spot. Her voice shook slightly as she spoke, "What?"

"You heard me!" Chad said. "Get out of my house. If you don't care about my friend, then I don't care about you."

Taylor stomped out of the room and slammed the front door shut with a bang. The noise echoed throughout the house as the entire gang sat in silence, waiting for something to explain what the hell had just happened.

"Chad…" Troy began. "You know you don't want to do this."

"Shut up, Troy!" Chad shouted. "You have no say in this. Just leave me alone and let me do this!"

Troy looked at Chad, tears springing into his eyes. Troy looked his friend dead in the eyes and said, "Fine. I'll go home."

As if on cue, the entire gang shouted, "No!"

Troy shook his head and headed towards the door. With three sweeping strides, Zeke blocked the doorway. "I wouldn't be a friend if I let you go back there."

"Guys," Troy said desperately. "If I don't get home soon, my dad will beat me back home and he'll be even more angry. Just let me go."

Zeke and the others exchanged a nervous look, for they knew what Troy said was true. Troy sighed and said, "Guys, once I get home, I'm already in trouble. Can I please just go?"

Everyone sat silently and Troy grinned. "Hey, Chad, can I ask you favor?"

Chad nodded. "Anything."

"I'm not in the mood to get in trouble tonight, so can you come back with me to my house, attach my wrists to the bedpost with a belt, and kick me until I pass out?"

Chad looked at Troy. Everyone froze.

"Sure thing, Buddy!" Chad said sarcastically. "While I'm at it, would you like me to burn you?"

"Haha!" Troy said sarcastically. "Been there; done that."

"What?" Sharpay gasped.

"Uhh…" Troy scratched his neck. "My dad has recently taken up smoking. He had fun with a cigarette last night." He rolled up his shirtsleeve to reveal a round burn on his upper arm. Gabriella gasped.

"Troy, are you serious?" She asked. "Did he actually do that?"

"Is this surprising?" Troy asked with a shrug. "I mean, the guy breaks my rib and _this _is surprising to you?"

"He broke your rib?" Kelsi gasped.

Troy paused. "No. Who said that?"

"Troy!" Ryan shouted. "Are you-"

"This has been a pleasure," Troy said happily. "But it's time for me to part. Feel free to talk about me; I know you'll do it anyway."

Troy then pushed his way past Zeke and out the front door while everyone sat dumbstruck behind him. Troy shut the door and hurried down the street, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He then heard Chad's front door open and a voice call out, "Troy, wait!"

Troy stopped dead in his tracks and spun around. Ryan jogged over to Troy, Sharpay on his heels. Ryan gave a grim smile and said, "We'll give you a ride home."

Ryan had situated himself in the front seat by the time Sharpay had finished complaining that she wanted to drive. She then tried for shotgun, but Ryan had made sure that Troy was there first. Sharpay let out a scoff and threw herself in the backseat.

"So, Troy," Ryan began. Troy groaned. "You okay?"

"Do we have to talk?" Troy half-asked, half-groaned. "I know what the subject will turn to!"

"Do not!" Sharpay said.

"Do too!" Troy retorted.

"How are the Wildcats doing?" Ryan asked, smiling.

"Oh." Troy sat silently. "Season starts tomorrow."

"You think the Knights will beat you?" Sharpay asked. Then she slapped her hands to her mouth. "Okay. Um… bad wording."

"Okay, guys," Troy said with a sigh. "Go ahead. I know you'll say it eventually."

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked.

"Are you going to live?" Sharpay asked, popping her head in between the boys.

"I'm fine, and… I'm pretty sure I'm going to live," Troy answered.

"Is it bad?"

Troy shrugged. "Bad enough."

They sat silently for a moment then Troy spoke. "Ryan, you know that favor I asked Chad earlier?"

"Yeah," Ryan said.

"That wasn't funny, Troy," Sharpay said angrily.

"The thing was… I was being kinda-sorta serious…"

"What?" The twins asked loudly.

"Well, see, if my Dad finds me… not on the bedpost then he'll be really really really pissed at me," Troy explained. "And I don't want to see him when he's really really really pissed for the millionth time. I'm not asking much."

"You're asking us to tie you to a bedpost and kick you until you pass out!" Ryan exclaimed.

"See? Not much!"

---

Troy cracked open the door and stuck his head inside. He swiveled his head around but saw no sign of life in his house. Troy exhaled and opened the door wide. He stepped on the threshold on the house and made his way into the kitchen.

"Shit."

Jack was sitting at the table, his hands folded in front his him. Troy slowly flipped on the light switch and gave a nervous laugh, running his hand through his hair.

"H-h-hello," Troy said nervously.

"Where have you been, Troy?" Jack asked, a somewhat happy tone lining his voice.

"Upstairs?" Troy said hopefully.

"Hmm. Interesting. Because when _I _went upstairs, I didn't see you up there," Jack said.

"Maybe we just never bumped into each other!" Troy exclaimed.

"Don't be a smartass, Troy!" Jack yelled, standing up so abruptly that Troy jumped back in surprise. Troy began to back up out of the kitchen when Jack said, "Troy, you haven't done the dishes."

"What?"

"You forgot to do the dishes!" Jack said. "Now, come and get them done!"

Troy nervously stepped closer to his father and towards the sink. Steam rose eerily from the sink. Troy turned to his dad. "Dad, the sink is full of water."

"I know."

"There's no dishes."

"I know," Jack said. It was then that Troy realized that he was in very big trouble and he was kind of wishing that his punishment had nothing to do with this boiling water.

Jack was quick as lightning as he grabbed Troy by the back of the head and forced him towards the sink. Troy struggled to escape but Jack's strong hands held him in place. Just as he was about to scream, his face hit the burning water with a splash.

Troy's head was then pulled out of the sink. He gasped for air and shut his eyes as water ran off his face and onto the floor. Troy coughed and breathed just in time for his head to be pushed back into the water.

This cycle repeated until finally Jack pushed Troy's head under the water for a final time. Troy's head stayed in the boiling water as he waited for the time when his dad pulled him out of the water again, but it didn't come. Troy struggled around as Jack clamped Troy's head tightly in the sink.

Troy felt light-heated; his lungs screamed for air; his brain seemed to struggle for oxygen. He made one last attempt to escape before he went limp.

Jack gave a satisfied smile and brought Troy out of the water. He tossed his son lazily on the ground and made sure to tread on his hand before heading upstairs to his room. Once Jack reached his bedroom, he kicked the sliced belt to the side and grinned.

This had been a successful night.

---

Fans cheered wildly, their feet stomping on the wooden bleachers. The band played their instruments loudly as everyone let out wild screams. All the noise radiated, muffled, through the shut door of the locker room.

"Are you guys _ready_?" Troy shouted, trying to pump up the team.

"Yeah!" They screamed back and all got ready to go onto the court. Zeke led the way, ranting and screaming all the way out. Troy stayed behind, and unbeknownst to him, so did Chad. Troy pulled his shirt over his head and paused when he heard Chad's gasp.

"Why do you guys always show up at the worst times?" Troy sighed, for he knew it was Chad. He grabbed his jersey and slipped it over his head quickly. Chad shook his head, not really wanting to discuss what he had just saw.

"You ready, Bud?" Chad asked. Troy nodded and gave a smile. "Let's go kick some West High butt!"

Both ran happily out of the locker rooms and onto the court. Lights blared in their eyes and cheers blared in their ears. They waved and ran into position, waiting for the whistle to blow.

The game went by smoothly, although the Knights had decided to play a bit rough. As number 27 ran past Troy he elbowed him hard in the side. Troy yelped and the cheerleaders behind him froze.

"You jerk!" They screamed at number 27. Troy nodded his thanks to the cheerleaders although he wished they would shut the hell up.

Two of the Knights smiled at each other and headed after Troy. The Knights' main goal was to get Troy out of the game because they knew he was the Wildcats' best player and without him, the Wildcats would lose the game for sure.

Troy had the ball, all five of the opposing players closed in around him. They threw a couple of elbows right into his side and a few clipped his head; of course the ref couldn't see any of this and didn't blow the whistle.

Chad's anger rose to a surprising height and he ran over to his friend. He used his entire body to shove everyone out of the way and got towards Troy who had fallen to the ground.

The crowd let out a large gasp and watched as Chad helped Troy to his feet, the whole game momentarily on pause. Troy leaned a bit on Chad for support but stopped, realizing that he needed to get back into the game.

"You okay, 14?" The referee asked Troy.

"Yeah," Troy nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

The game resumed but Chad found he couldn't pay attention. He watched Troy like a hawk as he made his way around the opposing players, making sure that no one touched Troy again. Zeke had realized the other team's plan and had decided to help Chad out.

Troy clamped the ball tight in his hands, moving it to keep it out of reach of the other team. He passed it off to Jason who made his way down the court and missed an easy lay-up.

Troy felt his breathing get heavier and his chest tighten up. The room swarmed in front of his eyes; red blotches appeared throughout the gym. Troy's head got light and his felt his body sway and spin. He looked over at his dad, thinking, "Oh, God. I'm in trouble."

Troy fell to the ground and the world went black.

---

"It was exhaustion!"

"And dehydration!"

"Well, it didn't help that the Knights were all over him!"

Troy opened his eyes and saw the faces of his team circled around his face. He pulled himself up and held his spinning head tightly.

"Man, what happened?" He asked.

"You passed out!" One teammate offered.

"Your dad was screaming at the ref for a time out for about a minute before we realized you were out!" Jason said.

"Speaking of which, where is my dad?" Troy asked.

"Still screaming at the referee," Zeke said. "He's still mad because we lost."

"What?" Troy asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Without you we lost by twelve baskets!" A teammate exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Shit."

"It's all right, Troy," Chad said. "It's not your fault."

"There'll be other games!" Zeke exclaimed. The team (minus Chad and Zeke) cleared out of the locker room and headed towards the shower as Troy sat on the bench, shaking, his head in his hands.

"I'm going to be in so much trouble," He moaned.

"No, you aren't," Zeke said, even though he didn't believe it himself. "But… what happened out there?"

"I'm just… tired. I had a long night," Troy said, not removing his head from his hands.

Chad and Zeke exchanged glances. "We'll come with you tonight," Chad said. "He wouldn't dare try anything with us both there."

"No, guys, don't," Troy said. "He's not afraid to hurt you. I'd rather it me than you. You guys don't deserve this."

"And you do?" Chad asked angrily.

"Troy, no one deserves to be beaten to death!" Zeke exclaimed.

"I'm not dead!" Troy defended.

"Yet!" Zeke said.

"Thanks for that," Troy said. "Just… let me get it over with. I don't want him to brew on the thought; it could make him more mad."

"Number 14?" The referee entered the locker room. "You better now?"

"Yeah!" Troy said, too quickly. "Just peachy."

"I think you should get to the hospital, just in case," The referee said. "You could have a concussion."

"So could you!" Troy said.

"But… I didn't pass out," the ref said. "You did. _You _could have the concussion, not me."

"When you think about it, we could _all _have concussions," Troy said.

"I really think you should go to the hospital," The ref said.

"I'm fine," Troy said. "Seriously!"

"I'll have your dad deal with it!" The ref finally said.

"No! The bruises are starting to fade!" Troy said, losing control of himself.

"What?"

"I was kidding," Troy said quickly. The referee frowned.

"That's not funny, son," The ref said. "Some people actually get beaten everyday!"

"Really?" Troy asked; the ref didn't catch the sarcasm.

"Really, so don't joke about those things!" The referee stated. "I mean, how would you like it if _you _were the one getting beaten and someone else was making a joke of it?"

"I don't know," Troy said. "I haven't been in that situation before. Anyway… toodles."

He gathered himself up and he, Chad, and Zeke exited, leaving the referee alone in the locker room.

**Author's Note: Okay, bad ending, but I know that I made your heart leap when you saw that Troy almost told. Please review with what you thought!**


	12. Chapter Eleven: His Last Hope

**Author's Note: A flashback is going to be set off in Italics. Just a heads up. Please, all, I'm begging you. I love to hear that you're like my story but please, please, please, refrain from "This is good. Update soon!" Help me grow! Not stay the same! (copyright to DramaticStarlet) This chapter is dedicated to Kylaa who is my bestest reviewer. Thanks, Kylaa!**

**Chapter Eleven: His Last Hope**

"Guys, I'm serious," Troy said, as Chad and Zeke (Jason remained missing in action) tried to get out of the car. They had just pulled into the Bolton's driveway; Mr. Bolton was coming home after a quick meeting with the referee. "Please, don't come in!"

"Troy, that's not going to work," Zeke said. "There's no way your dad will try anything with us all there."

"He tried it when it was just Chad and I," Troy snapped. The two others fell silent. "And Gabriella and I."

"But now we have _three_," Chad pressed on. "Come on! What's the worst that could happen?"

"Would you really like me to answer that?" Troy asked. Zeke and Chad threw him annoyed looks. "You know," Troy started sarcastically. "He has more than one belt… and more than one bed post."

"That wasn't funny," Chad said stiffly.

"I thought it was hilarious," Troy said jokingly as he walked up to his front steps. He dug a set of keys out of his gym bag and stuck one in the knob. He turned to his friends. "You guys can stay for a bit, but you have to leave before 2:15."

Zeke and Chad nodded, knowing perfectly that they were going to stay well past 2:15. Troy twisted the keys and swung open the front door widely. All three boys threw their bags onto the couch and stopped in the kitchen.

Troy opened the kitchen cabinet and fished around through the food until he grabbed out three bags of chips and a bag of pretzels. He turned to them, the brightly colored bags crinkling in his hands. "You think this will survive through the night?"

Chad and Zeke looked at each other and gave a laugh. "No!"

Troy shook his head. "I didn't think so."

"Would you stop being so _loud_?" A voice asked. "Some people are trying to _sleep _here!"

Just then, a woman clad in her pajamas padded into the kitchen, bathrobe billowing behind her, slippers padding against the floor. She put one hand on her hip and one on her very large stomach; she was very apparently pregnant. Troy almost dropped the food in surprise.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked, gathering himself up.

"Excuse me?" The woman asked angrily, her voice hitching higher. "What did you say to me?"

Zeke leaned over and whispered in Troy's ear, "Man, she's pregnant! You know how women can be when they're pregnant!"

"No," Troy whispered back. "No, I don't."

"Oh," Zeke whispered. "Well, they get really moody and lose their way pretty quickly."

"Why are we whispering?" Chad whispered to the two.

"I'm sorry, but what are you doing in my house?" Troy asked the woman.

The woman scoffed. "Your house? _Your _house?" She looked on the verge of hysterics. "This is _my _house!"

"Umm… No, I've lived here for fourteen years; I think I know what my house looks like," Troy retorted hotly.

"Oh!" The woman looked ecstatic that she had made a connection. "Are you Trey?"

"Umm… Troy," Troy answered. "Do you… know me?"

"I know your father," The woman replied. "What? He didn't tell you about me?"

"Umm… I'll just… call him and tell him you're here," Troy said, confused.

"Whatever."

Troy walked into the kitchen and dumped his bag onto the couch. The contents spilled onto the cushions and some skittered to the floor. Troy took no notice and fished for his cell phone. He finally found it hiding underneath an Ace Bandage and his warm up jersey.

"Dad?" Troy asked once his dad answered the phone.

"Yes, Troy?" Jack asked sweetly, as if he was concerned. Troy assumed there were other people in the room. "Is something wrong?"

"Umm… there's someone here to see you," Troy said, still utterly confused. There was a silence and Jack asked, "Who is it?"

Troy covered the mouthpiece with his chest and turned to the kitchen. "Who are you?"

"Cassidy Bolton."

"Cassidy B- _what_?" Troy turned to Cassidy. "I'm sorry. I didn't catch that last bit."

"Didn't your dad tell you?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"No."

"We got married two days ago at City Hall," Cassidy explained.

"Oh," Troy said. "Okay." He turned to his phone. "Apparently it's my new mother."

"Oh. Tell her I'll be home in five minutes," Jack said.

"Is she even old enough to be legally married?" Troy asked, looking up and down at his stepmother. She looked young enough to be his sister with her bright blonde hair and piercing green eyes.

"Yes, Troy. She been twenty for two months now," Jack explained. "I'm really sorry but if you're not in any dire trouble, then I have to go. I'll see you soon."

"Okay. Bye, Dad."

"Bye, Troy. I love you," Jack responded.

"No, you don't."

But Jack had already hung up. Troy turned to his friends. They were both staring, open mouthed and wide-eyed. They mouthed like fish out of water, looking from Troy to Cassidy and back to Troy.

"So, Mommy…" Troy said sarcastically.

"You little brat! You will _not _speak to me that way and as long as you're under _my _roof, you will treat me with respect!" Cassidy demanded.

Troy gave his friends a look and responded, "First of all, it isn't your roof; you aren't paying for it. Second, you're three years older than me! You could be my sister! Speaking of sisters," He looked at her protruding stomach. "Please tell me that's _not _going to be my sister."

"It's not," Cassidy explained with a scoff. Troy let out a large sigh. "It's going to be your brother!"

Troy dropped his cell phone.

"Rainbow Sunshine will be born within the next month!" Cassidy explained excitedly. She turned to Chad and Zeke. "Isn't that _exciting_?"

"Oh, yeah," Zeke said, his mouth still part-way hanging open.

"Amazing," Chad said. There was a silence. "So, you're naming it Rainbow Sunshine Bolton?"

"My second choice is Lightning," Cassidy said, staring, bored, at her perfect nails.

"Lightning Bolton?" Troy asked, incredulously.

"Isn't it clever?" Cassidy asked gaily. The three boys nodded and stared at each other, awestruck. Cassidy cleared her throat and said, "By the way, Trey…"

"Troy," Chad corrected.

"Who cares?" Cassidy batted it away. "Umm, we need you to move into the basement. The baby is going to be in your room."

"But the basement is just storage," Troy said.

"But the baby can't live in the storage!" Cassidy said hotly.

"So, why doesn't the baby move into the guest bedroom?" Troy asked.

"Because!" Cassidy said. "Your room has the better view of the nice back yard! The guest bedroom has a view onto the street!"

"Why can't I just have the guest bedroom, then?" Troy asked, his head spinning. This was all happening so fast; his new _mother _moved into his house and she was three years older than him, also carrying his new baby brother who was going to take his bedroom away from him so he was stuck in the basement.

"Because, Jackie doesn't want you in there!" Cassidy explained, exasperated. At the word "Jackie", Chad started pantomiming getting sick behind Cassidy's back.

"The basement floods when it rains," Troy said.

"Well, maybe you can shove your face in the water and drown or something," Cassidy said madly. "You know, we really don't care; it'd make our life so much easier."

"Spoken like a true woman!" Jack said from the doorway.

Cassidy gasped and threw her arms in the air for a hug. "Jackie!"

"Cassie!"

They hugged and Mr. Bolton planted a kiss on her cheek. She giggled but then made a sour face. "Jackie, Troy was being mean to me!"

"Excuse me?" Jack whipped around to face Troy. Troy backed up, his back hit the counter corner and he urged himself not to moan out loud for he knew he was already in enough trouble.

"We're going to go up in my room now," Troy said quickly. All three boys turned to go up the staircase when Jack spoke. "_They_ aren't."

"Why not?" Troy asked, his voice shaking.

"Because, I'm sure their parents expect them home," Jack said through gritted teeth.

"Nope."

"They don't."

"Well, Cassidy needs her sleep," Jack said. "You boys are really too loud when you are here."

"We'll be silent," Zeke promised.

"We learned sign language!" Chad said, moving his fingers in random directions, hoping he was making actual letters.

"No, I think you guys should leave," Jack said, shooting an angry glance at Troy. Troy stared at his friends desperately, silently pleading them to just go home.

"Oh!" Zeke exclaimed happily. "You guys can come to my house tonight!"

"Good idea!" Chad said.

"See ya, Dad!" Troy said happily, waving as he headed towards the front door. Troy ran as quickly as he could away from his father.

"Troy, where are you going?" Jack asked him.

"To Zeke's house," Troy said.

"Well, you can't go to Zeke's house without Zeke, can you?"

Troy groaned inwardly and spun around. Jack had a secure hold on Zeke's shirt. A pure look of terror twisted Zeke's features but he still said, "Go on without me. I'll be there in a minute."

"Umm… guys, I think my dad wants to spend quality time with me," Troy said. Jack was slowly releasing Zeke's shirt. "I'll call you later tonight to tell you all about it."

Chad and Zeke shot Troy worried glances and Troy urged, "We're going to watch a movie or something."

"Oh my gosh!" Cassidy squealed. "We should watch Material Girls! It's my favorite movie!"

"I don't think we have that one," Troy said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. Cassidy looked wounded.

"I put it on the shelf yesterday!" Cassidy said.

"When were you here yesterday?" Troy asked, confused.

"Last night, you idiot!" Cassidy said, like it was obvious. Troy had a feeling that if a pregnant woman were walking around his house, he would remember it. "Um, I think you had just taken a shower or something because you were all wet but… it was like… just your head that was wet. What, do you like only wash your hair or something? That's kind of gross. I don't want my baby being near a boy as disgusting as that. But...anyway, you were like, on the ground asleep or something. That was rude, you know? You were right in front of the coffee! I really wanted a glass!"

"Right. I remember!" Troy said. "I fell asleep because I had taken a hot shower… with my head only… and I was tired… yeah, that's what happened."

Troy shot a glance at his friends; they weren't buying it.

---

Two hours later, Troy was on the phone with Zeke and Chad.

"Yeah, nothing happened," Troy said with a hitch in his voice. "We watched Material Girls; it's actually a pretty good movie."

"Troy, you can't be serious!" Zeke said. "I saw that movie with Sharpay! It was the worst thing I've ever seen!"

"No! It was good!" Troy said.

"What was it about?" Chad asked.

"I don't really remember; I fell asleep for half of it," Zeke lied. Sharpay had forced him to stay awake; he was checking to see if Troy was actually telling the truth. There was a silence that Troy was apparently supposed to fill in.

"Oh! It's about these two rich girls," Troy said. "And they lost all of their things in a fire that they started." Troy paused, trying to think of something to make up; these movies were all the same. It couldn't be hard. "They had to solve this mystery about their dead parent," The parent's death: always a must in Hollywood. "And then in the end, they get the money back."

Chad looked at Zeke who shrugged. That basically _was _the movie in a nutshell. Troy's breath caught and he let out a shuddering sigh. "Guys, I have to go; I might wake up Cassidy."

"Okay, we'll see you tomorrow at school," Zeke said.

"Meet us by the fountain in the front before first period," Chad said. Troy hardly let out his answer in fear of letting his voice crack. They hung up and Troy looked up, tears dripping down his face.

"Happy?" He asked.

"Very," Jack sneered.

---

_Jack smiled at Zeke and Chad as he shut the door quietly behind them. Cassidy sneered at Troy from the doorway, crossing her arms over her chest. Troy sat on the couch, his body trembling. Jack slowly turned to his son, his smile faded away and was replaced with a look of hatred._

_Troy waited for his father to speak or hit him- anything really. But instead, Jack walked into the kitchen and out of Troy's sight. Troy heard the refrigerator door snap open and the clattering glass bottles as they clinked together. Jack returned to the living room, an open beer bottle in his hand._

_"Very sly, Troy," Jack snapped, after taking a swig of beer. "After what you did today, you thought that you could get away from me?"_

_Troy shook his head and stood up, getting ready to head for the nearest exit he could find. Jack stepped closer to him, took another long gulp of his drink, and spoke softly. "You're just so weak that you couldn't stay up until the game was over?"_

_Anger boiled in Troy's chest. "I'm sorry. Next time I pass out, I'll make sure to ask you if it's okay first!"_

_"I had an interesting talk with the referee, Troy," Jack cooed. He came even closer. "He told me that I should tell you not to joke about child abuse. Funny that that should come up, huh?"_

_"Hilarious." _

_Troy edged closer to the front door, hoping to find a moment to make his quick escape. Jack drained his beer, whipped his mouth off with his sleeve, and spoke with slurred voice, "Clever, Troy. You really are clever." _

_Troy nodded, a tad bit confused. "Yeah. Sure."_

_Jack looked dismally at his empty beer bottle, shot a look that plainly said "Stay here or you'll be sorry", and turned to the kitchen. Troy decided that he was going to be sorry and the moment that Jack turned his back, he dashed for the door._

_It swung open at his lightest touch, as if sensing Troy's desperate need to escape. Troy jumped the first few steps and sprinted towards his car. He grabbed for the handle and pulled vainly, realizing that he forgot his keys; it was too late to go back now._

_Jack's darkened figure stood in the doorway, his face blocked by the blinding pinprick of light from the porch lights flanking the front door. He made an incoherent babble and Troy decided to make a run for the backyard, knowing that once he jumped the back fence, he could take an easy route to Zeke's house. _

_Troy placed his hand on the fence about to hop it with ease (this was not the first time he'd made a break away out back) when he felt a strong hand grab the back of his shirt and yank him onto the ground. Troy's back hit the frozen ground with a thud. _

_**Shit. **__He was caught._

_Through the dark night, he heard his father's part way drunken laugh. A slice of moonlight fell onto the glass bottle in Jack's hand, the gleam poking Troy hard in the eyes. Troy tried to scream, hoping that someone would hear it but his words were caught in his throat; he was too terrified to let out even a whisper._

_"Troy, you thought you could get away?" Jack asked. "That was quite stupid of you, wouldn't you say?" Troy turned his head back and forth looking desperately for a way to leave. He saw the next door neighbor's light snap on and a tiny figure's head stick up right above the windowsill. Troy blinked and hot tears fell down his face like dripping wax._

_Troy watched as Jack pulled the bottle back, his arm extended over his head. Jack, being in a part way drunken state, missed aim and instead of smashing Troy square in the face, the bottle crashed down towards the right side of his face. Troy tried to roll away but only succeeded in having the bottle smash the left side of his face. The bottle shattered and he let out a blood-curdling scream._

_Troy felt warm blood drip down his face as the glass cut into his skin. He closed his eyes and tried as hard as he could to hold back the tears as a hard lump formed in his throat. Jack grabbed the front of Troy's shirt roughly and pulled him to his feet. Out of the corner of Troy eye, he saw the tiny figure disappear. He sighed; that had been __his last hope_

_Jack pulled Troy into the house and shoved him aggressively to the ground. Jack kicked Troy hard in the side repeatedly until Troy finally screamed through his tears, "Stop!"_

_Jack gave a satisfied smile and looked at Troy. "Had enough?"_

_Troy doubled up, clutching at his chest and gave a nod. Jack laughed and kicked him again. Troy moaned loudly but was interrupted by a voice in the kitchen. "Jackie?" _

_Jack stopped, his foot pulled back in the kicking position. "Yes, sweetie?"_

_"Do you have any pickles?" She asked. Troy heard her searching through the refrigerator. Jack looked utterly confused. "Yes."_

_"Do you have syrup?" She asked, still searching._

_"Umm… yes," Jack said._

_"Okay. Just keep doing what you're doing; don't mind me," Cassidy said. "Act like I'm not here."_

_Troy let out a moan from the floor as he tried to roll onto his back once more. Jack's attention returned to Troy and he said, "Your friends are expecting your call, Troy. Call them and tell them how you're just fine."_

**Author's Note: Bum! Bum! Bum! Okay, well, you weren't expecting Cassidy, I know, but I warned you about her! I need ideas, people! I can't think of ways to abuse him! (Wow… Never thought I'd say that.) Even my twisted friend CooCoo (the one who bit me) can't help! I'm crying for help! (Hee hee. I'm pun-y!) Long chapter, I know! Review!**


	13. Chapter Twelve: Too Long

**Author's Note: Thanks a ton for the great reviews! They were extremely helpful! Go on and read, please! There's going to be a little boy in this chapter named, Denny Ducay. (His name inspired by a character in a TV show, if the name sounds familiar. Cookies to whoever can guess who it is!)**

**Chapter Twelve: Too Long**

_I have- I have you_

_Breathing down my neck- breathing down my neck_

_I don't- don't know what you could possibly expect _

_Under this condition so_

_I'll wait- I'll wait for the ambulance to come- ambulance to come_

_Pick us up off the floor_

_What did you possibly expect under this condition, so?_

_Slow down_

_This makes the perfect shade of-_

_Dark blue_

_Dark blue_

_Have you ever been alone in a crowded room?_

_While I'm- here with you_

_I said the world could be burning in- burning down_

_Dark Blue—Dark Blue by Jack's Mannequin_

Troy groaned and rolled over in his bed, smashing the Snooze button with his fist. This was the first time he had slept in his bed for almost an entire week. He pulled himself out of bed and found a somewhat clean pair of clothes. Slowly, he pulled on his outfit and headed for the kitchen.

Troy turned into the kitchen and groaned loudly. Cassidy sat at the kitchen table, a coffee mug grasped in her tiny hands. Troy shot her an angry look and turned to the cabinets, refusing to face her again.

It wasn't enough to say that he disliked Cassidy; he hated her. He hated her with all of his might. She came into his life taking his bedroom, giving him a new brother, and trying to replace his mom. He was fine with his old life, with his old bedroom, and his old mom, although she did leave him with his dad. He hated his dad too, but- hey, that was old news.

Troy waited impatiently for his toast to pop out of the toaster. He couldn't bear to be in the same room with Cassidy anymore. It came out later than he wished because Cassidy was trying to engage in a conversation.

"So, do you have a girlfriend?" She asked Troy curiously.

"It's complicated," Troy said, as he turned to leave the house.

"Well, come on!" Cassidy said. "Explain!"

"I have to go to school," Troy said dully.

"Does your girlfriend go to school with you?" Cassidy asked. Before Troy could answer she asked, "What's she like?"

"She's pretty and smart and she cares about me…"

"Borr-ing!" Cassidy "yawned". She looked extremely upset. "I'm never going have a boyfriend again."

"Probably should've about that before you went and married my dad," Troy spat.

"Well, I _could _have another boyfriend, I suppose," Cassidy explained in a bored voice.

"But you would be cheating on my dad," Troy said hotly. Although he hated Cassidy, he knew Jack would be very agitated if he found out that Cassidy had cheated on him in anyway… and that would only mean that Cassidy and Troy's new brother would be hurt somehow. "Cassidy, you seem like a smart girl," Troy paused. "No. Never mind. No, you don't." Cassidy looked nonchalant as she batted her eyelashes at Troy.

"Who needs brains when you've got looks?" She asked snottily.

Troy stared at her and continued, "If I were you, I wouldn't mess with my dad. You could get hurt."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Okay, see you after school or something, Cassidy," Troy said.

"Mom."

"Huh?"

"Call me Mom."

"Rainbow Sunshine can call you Mom. I'm going to call you Cassidy."

"You like the name Rainbow Sunshine, too?" Cassidy asked excitedly, clapping her hands in happiness.

"No," Troy said. "I think you should do something more practical… like…" He sat silently for a second. "Logan Christopher or something."

"But that's not unique!" Cassidy exclaimed.

"Yeah, but that name won't get him beat up on the playground after school," Troy said before walking out the door.

---

Troy sat huffily in the front seat, staring out the window at the passing landscape. He sighed, not wanting to be there, next to his dad. Jack looked at Troy and said, "You tell anyone about last night, you're in for a lot worse tonight, understand? I want everything to seem fine now that Cassidy's here."

Troy sighed, "Yeah, sure." Although he knew that he was in for a perfectly bad night anyway. He looked at his face in the rearview mirror and shuddered slightly. He turned to his dad. "What do I do about my face? What do I say?"

"Just… you were on a run and you tripped," Jack said.

"Yeah, because glass is lying all over the sidewalk," Troy muttered under his breath. They pulled into the parking lot and Troy jumped out of the car. Before he shut it, Jack spoke.

"Remember- basketball practice after school," Jack said with a smile. "Seventy suicides."

Troy sighed. "Right."

He slammed the car door and turned towards the school. He saw Chad sitting on the fountain, Zeke pacing beside him, Ryan looking worriedly around, and Jason, who was looking all but willing to be there.

This was going to be interesting.

"So, what are we doing here again?" Jason asked for the umpteenth time.

"We're waiting for Troy," Chad said. "He said he'd meet us here."

"So, why are we waiting for Troy?" Jason asked.

"Because we're worried about him," Ryan said. He turned to Jason. "Where have you been the last two weeks?"

"He's been here physically," Zeke joked. "No one ever said anything about mentally."

"I don't even get why we're so worried about him," Jason said annoyed. "Obviously he doesn't need any help if he's been fine all this time!"

"You think he was telling the truth?" Ryan asked angrily. "You mean to tell me that you honestly don't see how bad it's gotten?"

"I just don't get why we need to jump to Troy's rescue!" Jason said madly. "Why are we doing this?"

"We need to help him!" Chad shouted angrily.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Jason asked, now standing to meet Chad's eye level. Their faces stood inches apart, Chad now felt anger boil in his chest and travel through his veins like some sick kind of poison.

"Try."

"There's Troy!" Zeke shouted, pointing straight ahead as Troy made his way towards the fountain.

"I knew he lied!" Ryan said loudly. "Look at his face!"

"Thank you," Troy said, obviously hearing what Ryan said. He mimed a hurt expression. "I thought this shade of Chapstick brought out the color in my eyes."

"What happened?" Zeke asked quickly.

"Same old, same old," Troy said. "I was on a run and I fell on the sidewalk."

"What? Was there _glass_ on the sidewalk?" Chad asked, disbelieving. There was no way that concrete made those cuts.

"As a matter of fact there was!" Troy said indignantly. "It was a Bud Light bottle!"

"Troy, you know we don't believe you," Chad said.

"I know," Troy said sadly. "It was worth a try."

They all stared at Troy but it was Zeke who noticed something different. There was an absence, for Jason had disappeared mysteriously.

"I swear," Zeke said, picking up Jason's coat that he had left by the fountain. "I'm going to beat that kid's head in."

Troy looked down at his shoes and kept walking, and although it was unreasonable, he had terror filling his bright blue eyes. Chad elbowed Zeke in the chest and muttered, "You idiot!"

---

Basketballs resounded throughout the gym as the team began warm ups. Troy stood uncomfortably in front of the team feeling like an idiot in his blue shirt. He glanced at the clock and sighed. Chad and Zeke were late.

The doors swung open and hit the wall with a bang. Zeke and Chad entered, running crazily around the gym in matching pink and purple shirts that they had obviously tie-dyed themselves. The team chuckled as the two approached, laughing at themselves madly.

"Okay, we're here!" Chad said, throwing his hands above his head like a Vegas showgirl. Zeke smiled and placed one hand on his hip and stared at his nails on the other hand. "Like our shirts?" He asked.

Everyone laughed, including Troy but Troy sobered up at the thought of his father. "What are you guys doing? I saw you put your jerseys in your lockers today."

"Umm… The aliens stole them," Chad said.

"They left these in their place," Zeke said. He looked down at his shirt. "I think they're prettier. What about you?"

"Guys, come on," Troy said. "Just go change."

"I'm telling you! The aliens stole them!" Chad exclaimed. He sighed too exasperatedly. "I guess we'll have to run suicides today."

"Darn!" Zeke replied with fake anger.

"Oh, very cute," Jack said, walking into the gym. "Since you're so excited, why don't you stay _longer _than planned to show them off. You can run thirty more suicides than planned."

"We have to run one hundred suicides?" Zeke asked, open mouthed.

"No," Jack said. "You two have to run seventy. Troy has to run the one hundred." He turned to Troy. "I know you think it's clever asking your friends to do that, but it's not."

"He didn't ask us, Coach," Chad said. "It was an accident! Zeke's little sister made these shirts and replaced them with our jerseys!"

"What happened to the aliens?" Jason asked snottily.

"Rory is close enough to an alien," Zeke shrugged. But that didn't satisfy Jason. "Coach, with all due respect, I think they all should run one hundred suicides. Troy may have put them up to it, but they were the ones dumb enough to lie."

"Jason, shut the hell up!" Troy shouted. The team "ohhh"ed in appreciation of Troy's outburst as Troy walked over to Jason. He growled so that only Jason could hear, "Back off!"

"Cussing in practice?" Jack cooed. He shook his head. "Twenty more suicides, Troy."

"Fine!" Troy said. "Make it fifty! I don't care!"

"Have it your way," Jack shrugged. "One hundred-seventy suicides by the end of practice. You sure you can handle it?"

Troy shot his dad a look that plainly said, "Go die". He then turned around to Jason, his entire body shaking in anger. "I don't know what you want, but you better back off my friends, got it?"

Jason's face contorted into a rage and he swung out, punching Troy square in the jaw. Troy fell backwards; Chad caught him before he hit the ground. Troy clutched at his jaw and asked, "Why the hell does everyone keep hitting me?"

"Yo, Coach!" Jason said, a smirk playing on his face. "I think I heard him cussing again!"

"Yo, Coach!" Zeke mimicked. "I think I saw Jason punch Troy!"

"You know, I did, too," Jack said, smiling. "Twenty more suicides, Troy."

"One hundred and ninety suicides?" Troy asked loudly. "How do I manage that?"

"You should've thought about that _before _you started misbehaving," Jack smirked.

Troy then stormed out of practice before it had even started; Chad and Zeke were on his tail. They left the whole team behind, everyone angry with Jason except for Mr. Bolton.

---

_Ding dong!_

Troy opened the front door wide, trying to keep an ice pack on his forehead. A woman stood at the door, one that was familiar but Troy just couldn't put a name to. She had long red hair and sparkling brown eyes that made Troy scared to look into. They looked so cold, as if they had seen so much.

"Hey, Troy, is it?" The woman said. "I'm Lisa Ducay. I live next door. Listen, my husband and I are going out tonight and we are desperate for a babysitter. Do you think you could do it?"

Troy hesitated, wondering what his dad would think. Lisa urged on. "I'm sorry it's so short notice but we really do need to go to this dinner; it's for Eric's company!"

Troy nodded and tossed the ice pack onto the couch. He screamed to his dad who was currently residing in his bedroom. "Dad, I'm going to go baby-sit next door. Is that all right?"

Troy walked out the door before his father answered and shut it behind him. He and Lisa silently made their way next door, their breath fogging the cold air in front of them. Lisa opened her front door and they stepped into the foyer. "Denny!" She called. "Denny, come in here, please!"

Troy heard the pitter-patter of tiny feet across the floor. A little boy, no older than four years of age, leaped into the foyer to greet his mother. He had yellow and red paint splattered in his chocolate brown hair. His hazel eyes sparkled happily as he pulled his mother into a hug.

"Guess what, Mommy!" Denny said as he hugged her legs tightly. She patted his head lightly. Troy took notice to how both of them were flinching at the lightest touch.

"What, sweetie?"

"Yesterday- yesterday, I saw a dog!" He exclaimed proudly, staring innocently into her eyes. Lisa picked Denny up so that he rested on her hip. "His name was Buster! And he had spots! Big black ones! He was like- he was like um… a dal… a dal… he was dalnation!"

"A Dalmatian?" Lisa asked calmly, stroking Denny's hair.

"Yeah!" Denny said proudly. "Yeah, that's it!"

"That's great!" Lisa said proudly. "Denny, this is Troy; he's going to stay here with you tonight!"

"Oh," Denny turned to Troy. "Hi. Do you like dalnations? I do. Hey! Have you ever had a goldfish? I haven't. Do you like the color green? It's my favorite but purple is yucky. Hey! Do you think that we could color tonight? Coloring is my favorite!"

"One question at a time, Denny," Lisa said softly. She looked at Troy tiredly. "He doesn't have an off button. I checked."

"Lisa! Come on! We're going to be late!" A man, obviously Eric, called from the kitchen. "Hurry up!"

"Okay, I'm coming!" Lisa said. "Denny's bed time is at eight o' clock; he has to have a nightlight on or he'll get scared. He's really dirty; could you give him a bath? Actually, no. I'll do it when I get home. He has his dinner on the table- make sure he eats his carrots. He tends to just throw them around the room and…"

"Mrs. Ducay," Troy interrupted. "We'll be fine. Go. Have a good time."

She gave a faint smile and said, "Thank you so much, Troy. We really owe you." Lisa passed Denny over to Troy who took him gratefully and set him on his own hip. But now it was Lisa's turn to notice that Troy was flinching just as badly as Denny was.

Lisa gave another tired smile, kissed Denny on the cheek, and said, "We'll be home later tonight. The emergency numbers are on the fridge."

Troy ushered her outside and she and Eric made their way to the dinner. The minute he closed the door, a buzz seemed to flow through the pair of kids and Denny went crazy. He wiggled out of Troy's grasp and ran into the living room.

"I have colors! Do you like to color?" Denny asked. Troy was about to answer but Denny kept talking. "I drew a picture; you wanna see it? I hope so! I'll get it!"

He galloped up the stairs and Troy followed him, laughing at Denny's gaiety. Only two minutes into the job and he had already begun to like this kid. Denny turned the corner recklessly and opened up a door into what was obviously his bedroom. Troy took notice that the lock was _outside _of the door instead of inside- he found it very peculiar.

Denny bent down onto all fours and searched under his bed. He grabbed out a shoebox that looked as if a sticker monster had thrown up on it. He ripped off the top and tossed it to the side, grabbing out a picture in his hand.

"I found it!" He declared happily. He offered it up to Troy who took it with a smile; his smile quickly faded. There was a stick figure lying on the grass and another stick figure standing over it with what looked to be a cup in his hand. He also took notice how there was red spots all over the lying stick figure's face.

"Denny, what's this supposed to be?" Troy asked, dreading the answer.

"That's you!" Denny proclaimed, pointing proudly at the figure on the ground. "And that's that other guy with the cup the in his hand! I saw you last night! I waved, but all you did was scream like "AHHHHH!" I thought you were playing a game so I asked my mommy if I could go and play with you and she said that I had to go back to bed 'cause it was past my bedtime. Then, I as-kidentlee woke up Daddy. He got mad at me. So I had to go back to my room. Then I had a dream and there was a sheep in it. Have you ever seen a sheep? I saw one at the Zoo. It was like "baaa! Baaa!" I named it Fluffy."

"Oh," Troy said with a fake smile. "Did you _tell _Mommy about what you saw?"

"Yeah, but she said it was a bad dream and that I had to go back to bed or Daddy would get mad. I don't like Daddy when he's mad. It hurts."

"It hurts?" Troy asked, not taking any more notice to his own worries. "What happens when Daddy gets mad?"

"I'm- I'm not s'pposed to say!" Denny said, fishing around for another picture. He grabbed another blob of color and shoved it in Troy's face. "Lookie! This one is Mommy and Daddy and me!"

Troy took it gently and stared at it. There were three figures: the biggest was smiling and the two smaller ones were frowning. The medium figure and the small figure had blue blotches all over their stick arms and legs. The small one had big blue blotches covering his stomach.

"Denny, what are the blue spots?" He asked, now genuinely concerned.

"Mommy and I get them sometimes!" Denny said. "They're pretty! But you can't poke it. 'Cause then it hurts."

"Okay…" Troy gave the picture back to Denny who put the picture back in the box and hid it under his bed. Troy saw a pair of tiny pajamas laid out on the bed. He turned to Denny. "You want to take that bath?"

Denny made a face. "No!"

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!" Troy said with a smile.

"Mommy said no!" Denny said, planting his fists on his hips.

_Damn. _Why did the kid have to hear that?

"It'll make Mommy happy!" Troy exclaimed. Denny shook his head; he wasn't budging. "We can color afterwards."

Denny took off towards the bathroom. He looked truly concerned when Troy didn't take off running after him. Denny ran down the hall to Troy, took his hand, pulled him, saying, "Come on! The bathroom's over here!"

Troy chuckled as he bent over in attempt to get to Denny's height. He stopped and clutched at his side; that really disturbed his rib. Denny looked very scared. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"No!" Troy said quickly, straightening up. "You didn't do anything!"

"I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" Denny took off down the hallway and disappeared around the corner. Troy ran after him as quickly as he could saying, "Denny! Denny, please come back here! I'm not going to hurt you!"

He found Denny with his legs pulled up to his chest in the corner of the hallway. When Troy approached, Denny cringed back, and Troy withdrew. "Denny… Denny, it's okay. I swear, I'm not going to hurt you."

Denny shook his head, tears falling down his pink cheeks. "I didn't mean to," He whispered.

"I know, I know," Troy whispered back. He got onto the ground next to Denny who tried to scoot away. "Denny, you're okay. You're fine. I won't hurt you."

Troy sighed. "Denny, can you do me a favor?"

"Y-y-y-yeah," Denny said through his tears.

"Can I have your shirt for a second?" Troy asked.

"I don't think it's going to fit," Denny had stopped crying. Troy nodded. "Can I just see it anyway?"

"O-okay." Denny tried to pull the shirt over his head and Troy finally helped him peel it off slowly. Troy held back a gasp and a fresh wave of tears as he looked at the poor little boy.

Just as he had expected, bruises covered his back in many places. Some were beginning to fade and some were brand new. This was not something that had just begun apparently.

"Denny, what happened?" Troy asked.

Denny shook his head.

"What happened to your back?"

"Nothing."

"Did your daddy do this?" Denny didn't move. "Come on, you can tell me. I'll tell you if my daddy hurt me, if you tell me if your daddy hurt you."

Denny mulled it over for a second. "Okay, you first."

"Okay," Troy let out a sigh. "Yeah. My daddy hurt me. You're turn."

"Me, too!" Denny said. He sounded… excited. "We should have a club!"

"Denny, what about your mommy?" Troy asked, remembering the blue spots in the picture. "Did your daddy hurt your mommy, too?"

"You first, again," Denny said. He was really enjoying this "game".

"Umm…" Troy mulled it over for a second. "I… I don't know. You're turn."

"Yeah. It makes her cry and then I cry. Because when Mommy gets sad, I get sad and I start to cry. But then Daddy gets mad because I'm not supposed to cry."

"I'm not either!" Troy said, doing his best to sound excited. He was trying to make the kid feel better, not to scare him.

"Really?" Denny asked, awestruck.

"Yeah, our daddy's are a lot alike!" Troy exclaimed. Denny nodded. "So, does your daddy lock you in your room?"

"No. He took my door."

"Oh. That's what my daddy does. Does he forget your dinner sometimes?" Denny asked innocently.

"Yeah, kind of. I make my own meals because I'm a big kid," Troy said. "When you're a big kid, you can make your own meal, too."

"Cool!" Denny exclaimed.

"Speaking of meals, Denny," Troy said. "Do you want to eat your dinner now?"

Denny nodded. "Yeah. Do you want some, too? I have extra food!"

He then pulled Troy down the hallway and into the kitchen, babbling the whole time. Troy sat him down at the table and Denny began his tiny meal. "Close your eyes!" Denny demanded. Troy did as he was told and closed his eyes. "Now open your hands." Troy obliged. He felt three cold lumps in his hands.

"Yummy," Troy said when he opened his eyes. "Carrots."

Denny smiled. "Do you like them?"

"Yeah," Troy said. "They're my favorite. Big kids eat carrots all the time." He remembered his instructions to make sure that Denny ate his carrots, and this was not his first time babysitting.

"Really?" Denny asked. Troy smiled and nodded. "Can I have them back?" Troy handed them back. Denny ate them, a smile playing on his lips. "Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"Denny, I have another question," Troy said. "When did your daddy start hurting you?"

"Umm… I think it was when he was… burned," Denny said nonchalantly, munching on his carrots.

"Fired?" Troy asked. Denny nodded. "Yeah. He doesn't like his new job. He says his boss is a… a…" He whispered. "The 'a' word."

"Oh," Troy said. Denny continued.

"And guess what! Sometimes, Daddy comes home and his breath is all stinky, and Mommy says that it's… it's… Mommy says it's… beard!"

"Beer?" Troy asked.

"Yeah! That!" Denny said. "Well, he called Mommy a… he called Mommy the 'b' word!"

As Denny finished up his dinner, Troy asked, "You want to go get your PJs on, Denny?"

"Okay!" Denny ran up the stairs, Troy on his heels. Denny changed into his pajamas and held out his shirt from earlier that day. Troy took it.

"What's this for?" He asked.

"You said you wanted it earlier," Denny said, now sounding confused. Troy gave it back. "It's okay. It won't fit me. But thanks anyway."

"Okay," Denny said. There was a silence as Denny crawled into his bed.

"Denny?" Troy asked. "I have one more question. How long has your daddy been hurting you?"

"Since I was three and a half. What about you?" Denny asked.

Troy sighed.

"Too long."

**Author's Note: Okay, longest chapter yet. What did you think? I really like Denny. Do you? I think he's nice. Have you ever eaten a pumpkin? (I'm starting to talk like the little guy!) The song in the beginning was Dark Blue by Jack's Mannequin. Review!**


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Promise?

**Author's Note: This is going to be a very long author's note.**

**Co- I cannot PM you, so I have to say something now. I understand that my story is unbelievable at points; I've never said it would end up believable. I would like to know _what _I could do to make it more believable for you. Please, review.**

**And, yes, this chapter is going to be unbelievable; just thought I should add it now. But, if this story were believable, it would be kind of boring, wouldn't it?**

**XxTinkyBlondeBellxx is the only person to get Denny's name right! Denny Duquette from Grey's Anatomy! Cookies for you!**

**I'm not a doctor, peoples, so the information in this chapter may be a little iffy. Sorry about that. But I'm only thirteen. I'm not a MD. Maybe you are… if you are, please tell me what I should do about medical information in this chapter!**

**I'm just going to say one more little thing and then you can read: I love Denny. Okay, go ahead.**

**Chapter Fourteen: Promise?**

"Troy," Denny said, shoving his thumb into his mouth. "Can you come in here with me?"

"Sure thing," Troy said. He sat down on the rocking chair that was placed haphazardly in the corner of the room. Denny sucked on his thumb until it turned pink. He spoke to Troy again, terror edging his voice.

"Will Daddy be mad at me?" He asked.

"For what?" Troy asked, feeling his heart rip into two.

"For telling," Denny said, his eyes wide with apprehension. Troy walked over to Denny and sat on the edge of his bed. Denny pushed himself closer to Troy so that their sides were touching. Troy jumped at the touch but stayed where he was; he was this kid's protection. He couldn't afford to be weak. Troy wrapped on arm around Denny, causing Denny to flinch.

"You won't be in trouble," Troy said.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

They sat silently for a moment; Troy could feel Denny's fear radiating through his body. Denny spoke in a tiny voice, his body being swallowed in the enormous room. "Troy, can you stay here? Until I fall asleep?"

Troy looked at the little boy and gave a smile, one that was tortured and afraid but one that also emitted the feeling of care and happiness. He nodded and pulled himself into the bed fully. Troy leaned himself up against the wall. Denny snuggled himself into Troy's chest and closed his eyes. Within twenty minutes, the four year old had fallen fast asleep. Troy sighed and brushed some stray hairs out of Denny's tiny face. It was just so unfair that something as awful as abuse would happen to someone as innocent as Denny. Troy may deserve it, but not Denny.

The room looked threatening in the glow of the Care Bear's nightlight. The bulb sent a pale glow around that spread like flame on the wall. The walls crushed down on Troy until he wanted to scream. He began to shiver slightly, afraid of the atmosphere in the room, of what it was doing to his mind, of what he so desperately wanted- to get out of that room.

Troy's shaking subdued and he laid a lazy arm over Denny's tiny body. They were both lying on their sides; Denny's body snuggled into Troy's warm chest. Troy watched Denny's small chest move up and down with his steady breathing until Troy himself eventually drifted to sleep.

…Troy…

Troy awoke to the sound of footsteps and very drunken screaming. He didn't open his tired eyes and snuggled closer to Denny, trying to fall back asleep. He was still woozy and his brain obviously wasn't processing the events. The screaming got louder and Troy heard a woman's voice racked with tears.

"Please, Eric!" Lisa shouted up the stairs. "Leave him alone!"

"Shut up, Lisa, and mind your own God damned business!" Eric traveled up the steps and Lisa let out a cry. "Please, Eric! Don't hurt him! He hasn't done anything!"

"I said _shut up_, Lisa!" Eric was on the second floor, heading down the hall. Troy opened one bleary eye and saw the man approaching quickly through the open doorway. Troy pulled Denny closer to his chest and shut his eyes, acting as if he was still asleep. His senses had jumped wide-awake at this point. He heard the door slam and the click of the lock. He panicked.

He was locked in Denny's room. Denny woke up from the slam and flipped around in Troy's arms. He had tears streaming down his cheeks. "You said I wasn't going to get in trouble! You promised!"

"You aren't, you aren't!" Troy said, pulling Denny into a hug. He let the toddler cry into his chest for a minute before he said, "I have to get up." Denny clung to his shirt and Troy sighed, picking Denny up and placing him on his hip. He walked over to the shut door and tried to open it with no prevail. He was expecting it but it was worth the try. Troy banged on the door with his fist and shouted, "Hello? Mr. and Mrs. Ducay?" He kept banging on the door. "Mr. and Mrs. Ducay! It's Troy! I'm in Denny's-."

He was cut short from the door being wrenched open. Eric was standing there, his clothes lying chaotically on his body. Eric was a big man with plenty of muscle and about two inches of height on Troy. Troy was used to threatening figures and stood his ground while Denny buried his face into Troy's shoulder. "Mr. Ducay," Troy said as calmly as his angry body would allow him.

"What are you doing in there?" Mr. Ducay asked drunkenly. He swung the door open wide and Troy stepped out, holding onto Denny tightly. Denny buried his face- if possible- further into Troy's shoulder. Troy whispered in his ear, "It's fine."

"What were you doing in Denny's room?" Eric asked again.

"I fell asleep in there," Troy said. He glanced at the clock behind Mr. Ducay's head. "It _is_ two in the morning."

"Well," Mr. Ducay grunted, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Okay. You can go now."

All three walked down the staircase, Denny still clinging tightly to Troy. When they hit the bottom, Eric fished some money out of his wallet and slammed it in Troy's fist. Lisa was standing in the kitchen's doorway, wiping tears from her face. "Denny sure does like you, doesn't he, Troy?" Troy smiled and nodded. He set Denny on the ground and Denny scrambled back to him, reaching for Troy to pick him up again.

Denny began to cry. "Don't go!"

"Denny, I'll come back. I promise," Troy said, picking him up and placing him on his hip once more. He pat Denny's nose playfully. "Now be a good boy for Mommy and Daddy!" _Please_.

Eric snorted. Troy shifted Denny a bit and threw Eric a look. "What?"

"Denny is just a troublemaker. He's never good for us," Eric said.

"You know, for some reason I have a hard time believing that," Troy said. "Denny is a great kid and why you think it's okay to beat him is beyond me." Troy watched Eric's face twist into a look of pure fury. He looked Troy dead in the eye, trying to size Troy up.

"What did you just say?" He asked.

Troy gave a wry smile.

"You heard me."

Troy ran out of the house as quickly as he could, still holding Denny. He got footing on the log pile next to the fence and jumped it quickly, heading to his doorway. Troy considered it a blessing that he had made it over or there would have been a delay of time. Troy couldn't take any delays. He heard Eric's screams emit from the bowels of the house.

Troy skidded into the house, Denny sobbing in his arms. He set Denny on the couch, kissed the top of his head, and squatted to Denny's eyelevel. "No one's going to hurt you. You're safe here, okay?" When Denny nodded, Troy stood up and looked in the kitchen where his father was sitting at the kitchen table, a newspaper unfolded in front of his eyes; why he was up at two in the morning was beyond Troy.

"Dad!" Troy shouted, for once happy to see him.

"Oh, hey, Troy," Jack said, tiredly. "Cassidy woke me up. She's throwing up again."

"Dad, I need your help," Troy said. Just as he paused to explain, a loud screech emitted from next door and Troy heard Denny's tiny voice from the living room. "Mommy?"

Jack looked at Troy. "What'd you do?"

"Look, I can't really explain, but you need to help me," Troy said, looking anxiously to the window. "Are you coming or not?"

Jack looked hesitant but threw his paper on the table. The two ran to the doorway. Troy turned to Denny. "We're going to be right back. Don't leave the couch, you understand?" Denny nodded and Troy led the way to the Ducay's house. He burst through the front door, happy that someone forgot to lock it. They turned into the living room where there was a huge commotion.

"Eric, stop!" Lisa screamed. Eric had her by the shoulders and was shaking her as hard as he could. "Please! The baby!" Eric stopped for a moment and looked down at Lisa's stomach. Troy looked too, stuck in awe. Lisa was –not very noticeably, but indeed was- pregnant.

"You told, didn't you?" Eric shouted, shaking her again. "Didn't you?"

"No!" Lisa cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I swear! I didn't!"

Jack bounded into the room and punched Eric square into the back of the head. Eric staggered and dropped Lisa to the floor. Troy ran over, avoiding the huge brawl that had broken out between his father and Mr. Ducay, and knelt next to Lisa. "Lisa, come with me." He said. "I'll bring you to my house; you'll be safe."

Lisa nodded and gave Troy a watery smile. "You're an angel."

Troy just nodded his thanks for the compliment and helped Lisa off the ground. She clenched tightly to Troy's hand as they snuck around the fighting pair of men and got out the backdoor. Lisa stopped dead in her tracks in the yard. "Where's Denny?" She asked worriedly.

"He's at my house, don't worr-." Troy was cut off by the sounds of a child's screams. "Mommy!"

Denny was running as fast as his little legs would carry him towards his mom and Troy. Lisa let go of Troy's hand and stooped down to scoop him off the ground. Denny and she hugged, spinning slightly on the spot. Lisa wiped tears off her face and off of Denny's. "Hey, baby," She whispered.

"Do you have any boo boos?" Denny asked, extremely concerned.

"No, I'm fine. What about you?" Lisa asked, hoisting Denny to her hip.

"I'm fine," Denny shrugged. "How's Nicole?"

Lisa put a hand on her stomach. "She's good."

Troy paused when he heard his dad's scream from inside the house. He took off running for the front door, shouting over his shoulder to Lisa and Denny, "Get inside my house and lock the door! Don't come out unless you know it's me!"

Troy ran into the next house and stood still in the foyer. There was no noise; the house was absolutely silent. He turned into the living room, praying that things would be okay for his dad- something that he never thought he would wish for. His dad was standing over Eric's unconscious body, panting and heaving and sporting a bloody lip and a slowly swelling left eye.

"Dad, you're okay!" Troy said. He ran over to his dad and thought for a fleeting moment to hug him and then he stopped. He was happy that his dad had saved Lisa but there was no way that he was going to touch his dad in any way, shape, or form. "He heard you scream last night, did you know that?" Jack asked Troy angrily. "He heard you!"

Troy gulped. Okay, happy moment over.

"Dad, I'm sorry," Troy said. "I didn't know that I-…" He paused. "Can we just drop it for a minute? You can beat me later, but we have a pregnant woman- who isn't your wife- and a four-year-old sitting terrified in our house."

"You aren't getting away with this, Troy," Jack said as Troy turned to leave the house. He picked up a picture frame that sat on the tiny credenza on his left side and threw it, smashing Troy square in the back of the head. Troy felt himself get woozy and eventually collapse to the ground.

…Troy…

An hour later found Troy in a police station, talking animatedly to the police. "Okay, so, earlier that night, Denny had _told _me that his dad hurt him. So I had to find out if it was true. So, I looked at his back and sure enough there were bruises. And he kept on flinching and he was afraid of his dad coming home and being in trouble. I knew what was going on."

"Weird thing to presume immediately," The officer said with an annoyed voice like it was Troy's fault that he had to do his job. Especially at three forty-five in the morning. Troy gave him an angry look. "Well, when the four year old tells me that his dad is hurting him, what am I supposed to presume? That he likes corn?"

"All right, son," The officer said. "Calm down. So… you got Denny to your house and…"

"I got my dad," Troy said. "I knew that he could take Mr. Ducay easily"

"How did you know that?" the officer asked skeptically. Troy gave him another look. "This is not about me. It's about Denny."

"Right, keep going."

So Troy explained everything that happened after he had put Denny in his house. The officer then questioned him some more and Troy was allowed to leave. Just before Troy walked out of the room, the officer asked, "When we got there, you were unconscious. What happened there?"

"I'm sorry," Troy said with a mocking smile. "The interview's over."

…Troy…

Troy remained balled on the ground. Jack's foot pummeled into Troy's stomach until Troy thought he would scream, but he bit his lip and bared it, considering that this was all because he _had _screamed. Troy felt sick, as if he was going to throw up. His head spun, the room twisted around his, the shadows playing with his eyes.

Jack had a malevolent gleam sparkle in his dark depths of eyes. To him, this was an addiction- the abuse. When anger came through him, no matter what it may be about, Troy was his escape route for pain. The more pain he caused Troy, the less his pain was on himself.

Troy gulped back tears as Jack's foot hit his stomach with a sickening thump. His body racked his sobs and shook uncontrollably until Troy felt it all stop. Troy felt his back relax and his entire body slackened; Troy stumbled face first to the ground. Jack chuckled and stooped next to Troy.

"I told you that you weren't going to get away with it," He whispered. Jack disappeared out the front door but Troy remained frozen on the ground, every move he made straining his muscles and twisting his throbbing head. Troy moaned and rolled onto his back, waiting for numbness to settle over his body so that he could make his way into his bedroom once more.

…Gabriella…

Gabriella drove quickly, her eyes set dead in front of her. Troy hadn't answered his cell phone in the past two hours and she was getting worried. She promised to call him and he promised to pick up. Troy Bolton never went back on a promise.

Her car sped down the road, zipping past trees and houses as if they were nothing more than air wrapping around her car. Gabriella was so lost in thought that once she reached the front of Troy's house, she almost passed it up. Her car squealed to a halt and she jumped out, locking the door with the automatic button. Gabriella slid open the door, her stomach churning, afraid of what she was about to see.

The door creaked open and at first, the house was silent. The only noise she heard was her light footsteps, the jingling of her keys as she stored them in her pocket, and the door as it swung shut with a creak. Suddenly, the house seemed to roar to life as she heard coughs come from the floor behind the couch. Gabriella mustered up the courage to walk around the piece of furniture and gasped.

Troy was on his hands and knees on the floor, coughing out a lung. He put one hand to his stomach as the other kept him above the floor. He coughed loudly and groaned, clutching tightly at his side. Gabriella ran over and crouched next to Troy, putting a hand on his back. She gasped louder than before when she looked onto the floor.

Crimson blood splattered the hardwood flooring and covered the back of Troy's hands. He coughed again, a new wave of blood splattering the floor. Gabriella felt herself panic and she breathed deeply, hoping it would calm her.

It didn't.

"Troy, I don't care what you say," Gabriella said quickly. "We need to get you to the hospital _now_."

Instead of arguing, Troy coughed loudly and once again, crimson hit the floor. He clutched at his stomach tightly. Troy tried to straighten up but moaned and collapsed back down to the floor. "Gabriella…" Blood dotted his lips and he let tears dot his face. Gabriella was a doctor, but she knew this wasn't good.

…Chad…

Chad Danforth had always thought out his decisions. He was only unsure of himself twice in his life- once when he was eight and he decided to chase his basketball into the middle of the street and now, as he sped down Highway I 89, towards the hospital.

Chad knew why he wasn't going to tell:

He was in shock. It's hard to believe that, after seventeen years of friendship, Jack would turn so bad. He had known the family since he was born and Mr. Bolton didn't seem the type. He believed Troy, yeah, but Jack was different than that. _Was_.

He was scared. He knew it was pathetic; he wasn't the one in Troy's position. But telling on someone always got him hyped up. And sending someone to jail is a bit bigger than saying, "He stole my crayon!"

Troy asked him not to. This was Troy's business and it was Troy's wish. No matter how dumb it was. No matter what happened in life, you were always supposed to bear with your friend's wishes. No matter how much it hurt him.

He only had one reason why he _should _tell.

Troy was his friend.

So why did the _one _thing out rule every other reason not to?

Chad turned into the hospital parking lot, wheels squealing from h is sharp driving. He parked haphazardly in a parking spot. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him through the dim lot and up the white staircases, through the white halls, into the white lobby. The white overwhelmed Chad, bleeding into his brain and making sure that as he moved, he was blind. As he walked, he was numb. As he listened, he didn't hear. Until eventually, Chad leaned onto the wall, sobbing until his body hurt from the shaking.

No one moved in the hall because no one was there- not to Chad. He felt frozen of his surroundings as his entire wall of protectiveness crumbled in his mind. His protection- his best friend was lying, half-dead in a hospital bed somewhere in this God forsaken hospital. Chad punched the wall behind him in frustration.

Chad felt a tiny hand polish his back and felt a warm body stand behind him. He whipped around, tears leaking down his face. A grave smile, one that Chad could tell wasn't genuine, was smiling at him from Sharpay's face. She grabbed Chad's hand reassuringly.

"Come on, Chad." The words barely graced his ears as Sharpay tugged him down the hall a ways until they stood in front of a door. Sharpay looked at Chad, her grip tightening on his hand. "You ready?"

Chad felt himself nod and watched as Sharpay's hand made its way, slow motion, to the doorknob. The door clicked open and they stepped inside the room where the rest of the gang, minus Taylor and Jason, were sitting, scared and tired. They all stared at the two entering teenagers with red eyes and gave tiny smiles that were far from encouraging.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

They were gathered as if in a flock around Troy's bed. The boy was asleep, his chest barely moving with his ragged breath. It was minutes before Chad found his voice again. "What's the matter?"

"Internal bleeding," Kelsi whispered, and then broke down in tears. Ryan wrapped his arms around her tightly as she sobbed into his chest. Ryan let a few tears slip down his face as he kissed the top of her head gently.

"What happened?" Chad asked, staring at Troy unblinkingly.

"We don't know," Zeke said sadly, shaking his head. But the answer was blaring in his eyes, the same pair of eyes that stared so gently at everyone and everything. The same pair of eyes that had a raging fire burning behind them, ready to attack and kill, to get rid of what they could.

To get rid of Jack Bolton.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

The room fell into silence, all eyes plastered on the lifeless form in the bed. Chad noticed that Troy wasn't even under the covers, not even in a hospital gown yet. They were in a hurry and when hospital workers were in a hurry, Chad knew it wasn't good. Chad looked at Gabriella's shaking hand that clamped Troy's as well as it could. She had tears welled in her eyes, and she was biting her lip as if by biting her mouth was biting back tears.

_Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeeeeeeep._

**Author's Note: Like my cliffy? Sorry all! Well, please review! And I always thought this wasn't necessary because it's so obvious but: no flames please! They aren't needed. **


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Scooby Doo

**Author's Note: Well, I won't keep you guys! But thanks for the reviews.**

**And, Co, I understand where you were coming from. I just wanted to know what I could do to make it more believable.**

**Chapter Fourteen: Scooby Doo**

The room buzzed with frantic activity- the girls screaming and crying, the guys trying to find a doctor or nurse. The machine droned on with its never-ending beep while all of the gang tried desperately to get someone to help. Finally, a hoard of doctors and nurses rushed in, pulling things from pockets and ordering the kids to get out of the room.

Gabriella only shook her head and clenched on tighter to Troy's hand. "I'm not leaving him," She kept repeating. "I'm not leaving him again."

Chad looked at Gabriella, noticing that she was the only thing keeping the doctors and nurses from getting to Troy. He whispered softly in her ear, "Come on, Gabi. He'll be fine. Come on."

Gabriella sobbed and shook her head again. Chad gently pulled her by the other hand and she finally let Troy's cold hand slip from her fingers and relax onto the bed. Chad led her blindly out of the room, trying frantically to get his sobbing friend and his numb self out of the room.

"He woke up!" Chad felt the words brush past his ears. He felt a large lump fly out of his stomach but felt it churn again at the next words. "Troy, this is going to hurt a bit, but we need to get your heart pumping better."

"Chad?" Troy asked. Chad froze and Gabriella got pulled out of the room by Ryan who pulled her immediately into a hug. The door shut and Chad was ushered over to Troy quickly. Chad pulled Troy's weak hand into his own and stared at his friend. "It'll be okay, Troy."

Troy nodded and clenched tightly onto Chad's hand. Chad felt his fingers being squeezed together but did nothing to stop it. Troy's shirt was taken off and the machine groaned into life. Troy looked at Chad, fear in his eyes. Chad shut his eyes to Troy's obvious pain and waited.

……

Troy was feeling better twenty minutes later, his heart working well. The electricity shock had helped Troy jump start his heart and have it pump better again. He was now awake, happy as a clam, sitting up in bed and staring at his food. He picked up a lump of what seemed to be noodles on his fork.

"What's this?" He asked, turning to Gabriella who was sitting on his right side. She shrugged and he plopped it back on his plate with a sigh.

"Maybe it's dog food," Zeke suggested.

"No," Troy said shaking his head with a giant smile. "Dog food tastes better." Everyone laughed and Troy announced, "I'm hungry!"

"Well, then eat your food," Sharpay said smiling. Troy was still on drugs, meaning that he was a little loopy, his brain flying all over the place. So far, within the six minutes he had been awake, the gang had discussed bananas, goldfish, and Zimbabwe.

Troy shook his head. "_You_ eat it! I'm going to ask for an I.V."

Everyone laughed again as Troy's gaiety spread through them. Troy was alive, healthy, and happy (although they were pretty sure his happiness came from the drugs). Gabriella ran a hand over Troy's face, brushing his bangs off his face. They quickly fell back onto h is forehead and Gabriella gave her first tiny laugh. "You need a haircut," She declared.

Troy shrugged his shoulders and said, "Hey, has my dad been here yet?"

Everyone exchanged glances. They looked at Troy who was staring up at them innocently; his hands playing around in his food- if you could call it that. Ryan gave Troy his answer, "Not yet."

"Oh," Troy looked… disappointed. Something that the gang never thought could happen. He played with his food a bit more and said, "I'm going to be in trouble." He didn't look at his friends but kept his hands in his food.

"Troy, you can't help it if you need to go to the hospital!" Kelsi said. Troy looked at his food as if it was super interesting and said, "Yeah, but I could've tried harder."

"Troy, that could've made it worse," Zeke said. "Don't worry about it. Once we tell on him, everything will be fine."

"But we don't know where he is!" Troy said.

"That'll be easy!" Sharpay said. "We give a picture to the police and tell them where he normally is. He's got to go home sometime soon."

Troy looked up and blink, utterly confused. "I don't know what he looks like."

"Troy, you've lived with him for seventeen years," Chad said.

"Wait," Troy said, raising a hand to rub his neck. He cringed and put it back down. "Who are you talking about?"

"Who are _you _talking about?" Gabriella asked, sitting on the edge of Troy's bed. Troy blinked and said, "The guy who broke in!"

"Huh?" the gang said in unison. Troy nodded, confused. "Yeah! Who were _you _talking about?"

"Your dad!" Chad said, throwing his hands in the air.

"He wasn't even _home_ last night!" Troy said. "I was home alone and I left the door unlocked! Some guy came in and stole my dad's wallet… What did you guys _think _happened?"

Everyone remained silent; they looked at Gabriella. "Troy, you can't trick us! The house wasn't ransacked. It would be if someone broke in!"

"First of all," Troy said, angrily. "How would you know? You didn't look around the house! You just looked behind the couch for me." Gabriella froze, knowing it was true. The second she heard the coughing, she didn't see anything else but the boy she loved hidden behind a couch. "Second," Troy went on. "It wasn't downstairs. They went upstairs and stole my dad's wallet and Cassidy's jewelry."

"Troy," Zeke said sternly. "Are you telling the truth?" He acted as if he didn't believe it but deep down, something told him this was right. Jack would never send his son to the hospital. It just wasn't in his nature. No matter how badly he beat Troy.

"Yeah," Troy said. "I mean, he hasn't you know," He looked over the gangs' shoulders for other people. "_beaten me _since Cassidy got here."

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Sharpay asked, not fully convinced yet.

"Between the time I almost died and the time my drugs fully kicked in was about four seconds. How would I have explained it?" Troy asked, with the drugs wearing off. "Besides, you guys wouldn't have believed me."

"Of course we would have!" Kelsi exclaimed. Everyone agreed.

"Really? If I told you that my dad just abruptly stopped beating me, you guys wouldn't be suspicious... at all?"

Everyone paused and looked around guiltily. Troy gave a small laugh and looked at his hands. "Yeah, I know you guys too well."

"Troy, it's not that we don't trust you," Zeke said, his mind begging for Troy to look them in the eyes- just once. "We just don't trust your dad. This is hard for us- to know what's happening to you- and it's hard to not be able to tell on him when anything goes wrong."

"But when I tell you nothing happened-," Troy began.

"We don't know if that's the truth or your dad making you say it," Chad said quickly. Troy cringed slightly, remembering the lie he told his friends a couple of nights ago... and the lie he was playing out now.

"Seriously, guys," Troy said, looking from one friend's face to another. "Nothing's happened since Cassidy got here. I guess she's changed him a bit. And good thing, too. With the baby coming, I was getting kind of worried." _Still am. _

"Oh." The group was quiet. Troy spoke again. "Guys, can you call my dad or something? He's probably getting worried about me."

The room couldn't help but to crack large smiles. Troy was free of his torture and all was good- you know, except he was in the hospital. Troy gave a small smile back, wishing that what his friends thought was true- that he was free from his father's wrath. Ryan disappeared out of the room to call Mr. Bolton and everyone else filed out, Gabriella in the rear. Before Gabriella made it through the door, Zeke shoved her into the room and clamped the door shut.

Gabriella stumbled backwards and Troy smiled, watching her turn around, flustered. Obviously, she wasn't ready for that. She walked slowly over to Troy, giving a tiny smile. "So," She said awkwardly. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine," Troy said with a smile. "You want to sit down or something?" Gabriella just smiled and she felt hot tears fill her eyes. She turned around to the door and jiggled the handled a bit. Zeke had a firm hold on the handle.

"You okay?" Troy asked, noticing Gabriella's movements. Gabriella nodded, sniffling. "Yeah. I'm okay."

"Are you crying?" Troy asked. Gabriella nodded and let the tears fall down her face. "I hate seeing you like this."

"I hate _being _like this," Troy pointed out. "But, you know, those drugs put a colorful spin on everything."

Gabriella gave a watery laugh and sat on Troy's bed. He laughed and said, "I'm not contagious." When what he really wanted to say was _I love you. _Gabriella laughed a bit and scooted closer to Troy; she swung her legs over the bed and crept closer to him.

"I know," She said, which in Gabriella Language translated into "I love you, Troy."

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He smiled as she snuggled closer to him. He wanted to cringe very badly, but he fought the urge to move. Gabriella's eyelids fluttered closed and she said, "Don't ever do that again."

"I dont' _want _to do that again," Troy said. "Electricity hurts."

Gabriella smiled, her eyes still closed. "How can you be so calm when you just almost died?"

Troy shrugged. "I'm still alive, aren't I?"

She looked up at him.

"I'm still here with you, aren't I?" He added. He lowered his head and she kept hers up and suddenly, their lips connected. Little did they know, the entire gang was sitting outside the tiny window on the door, looking in. They all looked at each other and smiled.

"You owe me ten bucks!" Chad said to Zeke. Zeke smiled and Sharpay said, "Ryan, you owe me forty!" Ryan looked at her. "No. _You _owe _me _forty."

"No. You owe me forty. You got a scratch on my car," Sharpay said.

"You totaled my car," Ryan said indignantly.

"Oh yeah," She looked innocently at Ryan. "Tie."

"Shar, you still owe me the money!"

"Shh! Don't ruin this beautiful moment!"

"Excuse me," A voice said. "Can I make it to my son, please?"

The gang slowly cleared the way for Jack Bolton to enter, making sure to make as much noise as possible. Sharpay stood in front of the door. "Actually, Troy died a few minutes ago. You missed it; sorry."

"Miss Evans, please," Jack sneered.

"Um..." Sharpay searched frantically for an excuse. Normally, with a guy from her grade, she would kiss him and run away. As you can tell, that was not going to work this time. Well, it might- but... ew. She cracked open the door and stuck her head in. "Hate to break this up," She whispered. "But your dad's here."

"Shit!"

Gabriella jumped off the bed and smoothed her pants of imaginary wrinkles. Troy wiped his mouth and stared at Gabriella with a smile. "Wow. Bad timing, huh?"

Jack burst through the door. "Miss Montez, may I talk to Troy for a moment?"

Gabriella nodded and gave Troy a smile, leaving the room. Jack sat down on a chair and said, "So. You managed to get into the hospital."

"So. You managed to _put _me in the hospital," Troy said. "I just saved your sorry ass from a whole lot of trouble."

Troy explained his cover to his dad so that his dad wouldn't mess it up and tell one of his friend's parents a different story. Jack nodded and smiled. "Either you're really smart or your friends are really stupid because that was a stupid cover. My bet is on the stupid friends... unless you got your mother's genes."

Troy ignored the jabs and "yawned". "Well, I'm tired so I think I'll hit the hay."

"You won't right now!" Jack said. "You have to come home."

"Umm, I almost died. I have a feeling that they aren't going to let me out right now."

"I have a feeling that they will if I ask them to!"

"Or they'll wonder why you want me dead," Troy shrugged. "Whichever one."

Three days later, Troy was released out of the hospital and was brought back to school. When Troy got to his locker, he quickly did the lock and opened the door. His books spilled onto the floor in a heap. A piece of paper fluttered to the floor and Troy stooped down to get it. He pulled it to his eyes and scoffed when he read it.

"Watch your back."

Six years of friendship had not gone to waste- immediately Troy recognized Jason's handwriting. He crumpled the letter and tossed it over his shoulder, right into Chad's face.

"Dude," Chad said. "I just came to say welcome back."

"Sorry," Troy said. He took the letter from the ground and stuffed it into his pocket. He gathered his books from the ground. "Come on. Let's get to homeroom. I bet Darbus missed me."

"More than you know," Chad laughed. They both walked into homeroom, smiling and laughing. It was like old times, both happy and together, and not worrying about Jack- well, _one _wasn't anyway. Troy sighed when he opened up his notebook.

"Seems like someone was busy," Troy muttered to himself. Adorning the first page of the notebook, a huge colorul sign read, "FAKER!". Troy, although he knew that Taylor thought he was faking the abuse, knew it was Jason trying to get Taylor in trouble. The 'f' had the same loop on the end that Jason's did. He really needed a new tactic.

The bell rang and Troy gathered his stuff to get to next period. The day dragged by slowly. On his way to lunch, he made a quick stop by his locker. He twisted the lock and opened it, looking at the picture on his locker- the one of Gabriella and Troy during Twinkle Towne. He never really admired that picture if anyone was around. Luckily, the hallway was empty as everyone was headed to lunch.

Troy felt a pair of hands clamp on his shoulders and tug him down the hall. Just as a room came into view, he twisted around, out of the culprit's hands and looked. Jason was giving him an angry look and said, "I wanted to talk to you."

"Well, then talk," Troy said.

"Not in the middle of the hallway," Jason grumbed. He opened the door wide, revealing a janitor's closet. "In here. After you." Troy shot Jason a look. "No. You first."

Jason caught Troy off guard and shoved him into the closet. Troy lost balance and crashed to the floor. He was momentarily stunned but when he came around, he flipped onto his back, and watched as Jason shut the door and locked it with a 'click'.

Troy sighed. What else could he do? He banged his fists on the door and waited. No one was there. He waited about an hour- maybe two, he didn't know. He didn't have a watch on. Troy vaguely wondered if anyone was looking for him. Suddenly, he heard screaming.

"Troy!" Chad screamed.

"Troy!" Gabriella said after. Following, a chorous of "Troys" flew through the hall. Troy banged on the door slowly, rather bored. "In here."

Zeke was the first to the door. "Troy? How'd you get in there?"

"I got lost," Troy said sarcastically. He had been coming here ever since he was four because of his dad's position as East High's gym teacher. He knew the school probably better than most of the teachers.

"Well, why didn't you come out?" Sharpay asked angrily.

"Why didn't _I _think of that?" Troy asked, sarcastically. "Please. Just grab a janitor and get the keys. It's really hot in here."

"Okay, gang, let's spilt up!" Chad declared.

"Shaggy and Scooby, you go that way," Zeke retorted. Chad shot him a look. "Come on!"

"Should I go with Velma or Daphne?" Zeke pointed at Sharpay and Gabriella.

"Should I take it that I'm Scooby or something?" Kelsi scoffed.

"Guys," Troy's voice came from the closet.

"Oh, right," Gabriella said. "Guys, go that way; we'll go this way."

"What if we need protection with the monster on the loose?" Sharpay asked.

"Guys!"

"Sorry."

A couple hours later found Troy, out of the closet and onto the basketball court. The lights blared on the team and Troy brought them together in the middle of the court.

"Okay, guys," Troy said to his team. "I know these guys were creamed by us last year, but they've gotten better. I'm not going to be playing much this game-," the whole team groaned. "Well, I'll play as much as possible, okay? But we need to stay focused and ready. You guys ready for this?"

"Yeah!"

The game started with a shrill blast of the whistle. Troy got posession of the ball and dribbled quickly down the court. He dodged in and out of the green and white clad team and made an easy lay-up. Within sixteen seconds, the Wildcats were already ahead.

The game went on quickly, the Wildcats beating the other team by twenty-six points. Troy smiled at his team, knowing that, despite the easy victory for them, they were trying hard. Troy noticed that the other team was looking extremely tired and upset; the slaughtering was too much shame for their enormous egos.

Troy signaled the ref for a time out and the whistle blew. The team gathered around Troy and Troy said, "Okay, guys. We're beating them by twenty-six points with six minutes left. I say, easy up on them a bit. Don't _kill _them but don't let up on defense. Okay?" Jason ran off quickly and Troy halted the team. "Seeing as Jason has missed every shot tonight... pass it to him." They snickered.

The team agreed and they spread onto the court. Chad recieved the ball and immediately passed it off to Jason. Jason dribbled down the court and lost posession almost instantly. Troy stole the ball from the other team and passed it off to Jason again. Jason dribbled again and missed the easy lay-up.

"Troy!" Jack shouted. "Stop doing that!"

Troy shrugged. "I'm just passing the ball."

The Central High Pirates noticed how the Wildcats were easing up on offense. They took great advantage to that. The defense was still strong though, thanks to Troy. Every ball that came near him never got by. They made a quick plan.

Troy realized how tired his team was, running uselessly up and down the court. The second that number 19 on the Pirates came near, he snatched the ball and dribbled quickly down the court. He stood at the three-pointer line and turned to shoot. Just then, the member that Jason was supposed to be guarding leapt out and slammed Troy in the side.

Troy felt the wind fly out of him and he started to fall only to be caught by Chad's quick hands. The referee blew the whistle and, much to the Pirates outrage, Troy got two free throws.

The first one, in Troy's fury, sunk right into the basket. At that point he didn't care whether he creamed the Pirates or not. But the second he looked upon their defeated faces, he stopped. Making sure to act like he was taking extreme care, he tossed the ball towards the net. It bounced off the rim and into the hands of Zeke who tossed in an easy lay-up. Troy cursed himself for having his stupid plan gain them more points.

The buzzer sounded. The Wildcats won by twenty-nine points. The team cheered for their victory but cut it short upon seeing the Pirates' faces. After all, they were the first people to beat West High that season- no matter how badly they sucked. Besides, they didn't hate the Pirates as much as they hated the Knights. They ran into the locker room; the cheerleaders buzzed onto the court singing the Wildcats theme song.

"Great job, guys!" Troy said with a smile. "You guys showed some definite class out there; thanks! Guess what! Next week, we've got a game against the Chargers! Let's cream them, too!"

The team cheered and filed out for showers. This was a good night. The Wildcats won, Troy was back in the game, and Troy wouldn't get in trouble for losing. It really was good...

"What the hell was that, Troy?" Jack asked, pushing Troy against the lockers.

The locker rooms had emptied of the rest of the team as Troy waited patiently for his turn to shower- when everyone was gone, that is. Jack had stormed in, angry as hell.

"I was just-"

"You were just letting them off easy, huh?" Jack asked. "What did I tell you about that? No matter how many points you are ahead, don't give up!"

"We didn't give up!" Troy shouted angrily. "We just eased up a little!"

"You're just weak," Jack sneered. "You just don't want anyone to look _sad_. Well, I refuse to have you be a pansy! I refuse to let you be _my _son and be as _worthless _as you are!"

Troy closed his eyes, trying to hide his tears behind his eyelids. The beatings, yeah they hurt. But the words, they hurt even more. He felt his head being grabbed by his father's hand and shoved into the locker. Hard. A punch to the face, a kick to the legs. It was just another night in the life of Troy Bolton.

"Don't touch him!"

**Author's Note: Well... I wonder who it is... You do, too. Don't you? Please review! The Go button is just _waiting _for you to push it!**


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Not Just Act

**Author's Note: .4 percent of car accidents in Canada are cause by a moose. Okay. You can read now.**

**Chapter Fifteen: Not Just Act**

Sharpay's heels clicked as she walked boldly into the locker room, her head held high, her eyes ignited with fire. She came to a stop, the lights shining down on her head and she stood hands on hips, staring dead on at Jack and Troy. 

"What are you doing in here?" Jack snapped.

"Get away from him," Sharpay sneered.

"I said _what are you doing in here_?" Jack screamed.

Sharpay looked unfazed by Jack's comment and she stared delicately at Troy. She reached out her hand and said, "Come on, Troy. Let's get you home."

Troy looked at his dad, his eyes wide with fear- not for himself but for Sharpay. His dad had that manic gleam in his eyes that he always got before he broke off hitting and kicking. Instead of getting helped gently off the floor by Sharpay, Troy was roughly picked up by his father and Jack said, "He's not going anywhere."

"Sharpay, what are you doing here?" Troy asked desperately, hoping he would be overcome with the power of telepathy and tell Sharpay to get out.

"I didn't believe you for a second, Troy," Sharpay said, tossing her hair behind her back. "I could tell you were lying and now I have proof."

"Get out of here, Sharpay," Troy said in a low, shaking voice. Sharpay shook her head defiantly and stood firmly in place.

"Only if you come with me."

"Sharpay, now!" Troy screamed. His words echoed through the locker room and Sharpay, once again, shook her head. She turned to Jack, an angry look covering her face.

"Why are you _doing this _to him?" She asked, stepping closer. "What has Troy _done_?"

"That's none of your business!" Jack sneered. Sharpay gave a short, fake laugh.

"Of course it isn't!" Sharpay said. "It's the polices' now. I'm _going _to report you no matter what Troy says."

"No!" Troy and Jack screamed in unison. Jack shoved Troy backwards and Troy hit the lockers with a clang. Sharpay looked angrily at Jack as he approached her, his eyes gleaming malevolently in the light.

"Why you little slut."

Sharpay's face twisted into a look of pure hatred and she reached her hand up, bringing it forward to slap Jack hard across the face but just before her hand reached its destination, Jack's hand came up and clamped her wrist tightly.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Jack said with an evil smile. Sharpay gave him a look and tried to tug her wrist away. She lost her nerve after tugging vainly for a few seconds; Jack was strong. That wasn't a good thing. Sharpay reached her leg up and kicked Jack hard in the shin, her heel digging into the skin. Jack let out a howl and let go of her, clutching his shin angrily.

"How do _you _like it?" Sharpay asked with a smirk. She walked around Jack with a definite air of arrogance and headed over to Troy who was trying to get himself off the floor but failing miserably as his tired body would just fold to the ground all over again.

Sharpay gave a sad, tiny smile and took his upper arm, causing him to flinch. She almost let go of his arm but decided against it. She helped him gently off the floor, "Come on-."

She was cut off by Jack grabbing her arm and pulling her away from Troy. Troy let out a cry and said, "Dad, please. Let her go."

"Troy, this is going to teach you a lesson," Jack said, looking evilly at Sharpay. "On how to be strong."

Troy shook his head, his eyes wide with guilt. His body started to shake as he tried to step closer. When he took one step, Jack's grip tightened on Sharpay's arm, causing her to let out a cry. Troy stopped in his tracks and looked at Jack.

"Dad, please," He begged. "Please don't."

Jack's arm drew back and Troy dove forward, smashing into his dad. Jack stumbled and let go of Sharpay who slunk backwards against the wall of lockers. Sharpay covered her mouth to muffle her cries as Jack and Troy fought in front of her eyes.

Troy threw some good punches from what Sharpay could see, but Jack always came back on top with better ones. Troy grew weaker by the second and eventually, with a punch to the head, Troy collapsed. Sharpay let out a blood-curdling scream. Jack looked horrified and smacked her across the face. "Quiet!"

Sharpay drew back clutching at her cheek. She was determined to stay strong in front of Jack. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Sharpay threw him a look and ran over to meet Troy. She sunk down to the floor next to him and looked up at Jack. "You monster. How could you?"

Jack chuckled and replied, "Well, sweetie, that was your fault."

Sharpay felt her stomach backflip, dreading the fact that it was true- that if she hadn't come down and hadn't tried to hit Jack, this would not have happened. She didn't really know that she had interrupted a beating that would've gotten much worse, had she not arrived. Her eyes filled with hot tears and she said, "I'm going to the police!"

Jack's eyes gleamed in the dim light of the locker room. He bent down to Sharpay's level and looked her directly into her eyes. "Now with the police coming, I could crack and maybe _accidentally_…" He looked down at Troy who Sharpay was clutching tightly in her arms. "Break his neck."

Sharpay and Jack sat in silence as Sharpay's mind went flying from one thought to the next. She looked at Troy's face. Sharpay gulped, held back a wave of tears, and said, "Fine. I won't tell."

"Good girl," Jack sneered.

…

Taylor walked through the gym as everyone began to file out. Small groups of people chatted with some of the team before they all headed out for a little celebration. She looked towards Chad and Gabriella who were talking animatedly near the bleachers, and her heart swelled with a twinge of guilt.

She decided to try and make thing right- to get back her friendships and break down this wall of silence. She may not have liked Troy or agreed wholeheartedly with what he was saying but she had to try. And she really wanted to see for herself.

"Gabriella!" She found her voice. Gabriella and Chad's heads spun around to watch her approach. Taylor stepped closer. "I need to talk to you."

Chad looked at Taylor with a look of disdain and said, "I'll catch you later, Gabi."

"Wait, Chad," Taylor said softly, grabbing his arm as he turned away. "I want to talk to you, too."

There was a long moment of silence where words just couldn't form on Taylor's lips, where the noise could not escape her throat. She looked back and forth at her friends and hung her head, "It's just so hard to believe, guys. It was a lot for me to take in. I've known the Boltons since I was five years old. Mr. Bolton's always seemed so nice."

"But why would Troy _lie _about that?" Gabriella asked incredulously. "No one would say something like that. It's not something anyone would go around and lie about."

"I was just in _shock_," Taylor exclaimed. "I didn't know what to think. I was just in denial." They sat silently for a moment and Taylor looked at the ground. "I just want to know if it's true."

"It's too late for that," Chad said. He couldn't help but to smile. "Ever since Cassidy- Mr. Bolton's new wife- showed up, everything stopped. Troy's not getting beaten anymore."

Taylor gave a tiny smile back. "That's great," She said. She stopped for a second and said, "I'm going to go find Troy. Apologize and stuff."

She started to walk away when something interrupted.

"Taylor!" She whipped around to see Gabriella smiling at her. "Good to have you back."

Taylor smiled and headed on her way down the hallways. She reached the locker rooms- girls on the left, boys on the right- when she heard what seemed to be a scream. The voice- it was so familiar. It sounded so much like… Sharpay? No. It couldn't be. It was coming from the _boys'_ locker room!

She walked down and into the right door. It swung open at her lightest touch and she stepped in, letting the door shut quietly behind her. As she headed down the hall, she heard sobbing. Loud, tired sobbing. Coming from somewhere nearby.

Taylor's pace quickened to a run as she made her way through the locker rooms. She looked into every section she passed but each one was empty. Finally, she heard sobbing in the last locker section there was. She stepped up to move into it, but stopped upon hearing voices. She dove into the locker room she was standing at and strained her ears to listen.

"So, we're clear?" Jack sneered to Sharpay. She nodded, letting loose a wave of tears. "Good." He walked out of the locker room, passing Taylor on his way. She pressed herself against the wall as he passed and didn't breathe until she was sure Jack was long gone. Taylor ran into the section next to her and heard Sharpay's sobs again.

"Troy, please," Sharpay was begging the unconscious form. "Troy, wake up." Taylor looked at the scene. It was so unreal: Troy, unconscious, in Sharpay's arms. Sharpay sobbing. A steady bruise forming on Sharpay's cheekbone. And herself, standing frozen in the doorway.

"Sharpay?" Taylor said. Sharpay looked up at Taylor and sniffled. "Taylor! What are you doing here?"

"I heard you scream," Taylor said. She heard the distant click of a door and the sound of faraway footsteps- getting nearer. "Sharpay, we have to get out of here. Now."

Sharpay started to cry uncontrollably and shook her head. Taylor grabbed her by the hand and dragged her out of the room, heading as quietly as she could for the back door of the locker room that lead out into the back parking lot.

Taylor looked over her shoulder and saw Jack about forty feet away. She felt their eyes connect and Jack let out a howl of rage, running to catch up with the two girls. Taylor shoved Sharpay out the door and headed out of it behind her, shutting the door tightly.

They heard Jack screaming and headed behind a car. They ducked down as Jack stood in the doorway, the light from the locker rooms spilling out onto the dark parking lot. They held their breath and waited for him to leave. Jack let out a scream of infuriation and slammed the door shut.

Sharpay jumped up quickly and said through her tears, "Come on! We have to go back!" Taylor shook her head and grabbed Sharpay's wrist so she wouldn't run to the locker room. Sharpay gave Taylor an angry look and started to tug at her wrists. "We have to get Troy! We can't just leave him there!"

"Sharpay!" Taylor said, pulling Sharpay closer to her. "We can't go back."

"We have to help him!" Sharpay screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks. "You made us leave him behind! We have to get him back!"

"Sharpay, there's nothing we could do!" Taylor said. "He was already unconscious. If we had stayed, there's no knowing what could've happened to us. Troy can take this better than we can."

"You didn't see him pass out then," Sharpay said indignantly. "Because I did. …He _can't _take it anymore, Taylor. He's too weak now to put up with this stuff." They sat in silence, their breath fogging the cold air in front of their faces. "If we don't go back, someone else should."

Taylor sat silently for another moment and said, "Fine. Let's go ask the boys to check on him."

"No!" Sharpay screamed, pulling Taylor back towards her. "They'll be suspicious! We have to be discreet!"

"Why?" Taylor asked, somewhat alarmed.

"Because… we just have to," Sharpay said. "Troy obviously lied for a good reason, so we should respect what he had to say." They sat silently and Taylor nodded. "Okay, Taylor, you can't lie. We all know that." Taylor nodded, knowing it was true. "I'll tell the boys something."

"Good idea," Taylor said.

…

Ten minutes later found Sharpay talking to the boys, her eyes tearless and her demeanor happy. Acting was a strong suit for Sharpay- she could definitely play this up. "Hey, guys! Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Sharpay!" Zeke said, wrapping his arm around her waist. She smiled and went on. "Let's go celebrate. Pizza on me."

The boys smiled and said, "Thanks!"

"Okay, so… wait," Sharpay said, miming confusion. "Where's Troy?"

"Oh." Everyone seemed to notice this for the first time.

"He's probably still in the locker room," Zeke said. "I mean, just because the beating's over, doesn't mean he wants everyone to see his bruises."

"Yeah, that's probably it," Taylor said. Everyone smiled, knowing that they had Taylor back for good. Taylor took Chad's hand lightly, dreading the moment that Sharpay would speak again, knowing that everything that Sharpay was about to say, was a lie.

"Why don't you guys go get him and we'll meet you guys at JJ Twigg's in thirty minutes?" Sharpay said. The boys, including Ryan, nodded and headed to the locker rooms as the girls headed off to their cars.

The boys laughed and joked on their way down, snickering about their huge win and about how easy that game had been. They made it down to where Troy's locker was and they stopped, looking in. Jack was standing over Troy, who was laying on the ground unconscious. Upon hearing the footsteps and the laughing of the boys, Jack's demeanor changed.

"Troy!" Jack said. "Troy, are you okay?"

Troy had come around by this time and he looked at his dad, anger lining his face. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"What happened?" Jack asked, helping him off the ground. "I mean, I walked in and you were unconscious on the ground!"

Troy looked at his dad angrily, trying to mask it on his face. "Dehydration I guess," He said and he turned to his friends. "Hey, guys. What're you doing down here?"

"Oh, we're going to JJ Twigg's," Ryan said. "We were coming to see if you wanted to come."

"Oh," Troy looked at his dad. "Dad, can I go?"

"Troy… are you feeling up to it?" Jack asked through gritted teeth. Troy could see plainly in his dad's eyes that Jack was telling him no but he still said, "Yeah. I just need some water and I'll be good."

"Okay," Jack said, his jaw clenched tightly. "Have fun."

"Umm," Chad said, interrupting their talk. "Troy, you want to stay at my house after? I'm having all the guys over anyway."

"Yeah!" Troy said too quickly. "Yeah, of course I'll come." He went into his locker and pulled out his sports bag. "Okay, Dad. See you tomorrow!" He headed out the locker room, feeling his dad's eyes burning a hole through the back of his head and he stopped, causing the others to stop too.

"I'm going to change," Troy said. "I'll meet you at Chad's car in a minute."

They all nodded and headed out to Chad's car while Troy turned around and faced his dad, "You said yes. It's too late to change your mind now."

"I won't forget about this, Troy," Jack said. "You're going to pay for letting her go."

_Yes, because there's so much I can do while I'm unconscious_, Troy thought to himself. He nodded at Jack as if he really didn't care and ran into the showers to change.

…

That night, Ryan, Chad, Troy, and Zeke all gathered around a small fire, roasting marshmallows in Chad's back yard. They laughed as Troy finished telling his story.

"So then Cassidy and my dad were trying millions of names," Troy said. "So, now on their list they have, Lighting, Rainbow Sunshine, _Kinnikie_ Rainbow Sunshine (Cassidy's on a Grease kick), Autumn Mist, and Raspberry Ice."

They all laughed. "I swear," Zeke said, pulling his marshmallow off his stick- it was perfectly golden. "That kid is going to _very _messed up if you don't do something."

"I don't know," Ryan teased. "I'm thinking Raspberry Ice Bolton is a pretty cool name." They all laughed. Troy smiled brightly. He hadn't had this much fun in a long time. Being with his friends, and laughing, having a good time- it was all worth the lying. It was things like this that he missed sorely. Though he felt bad about lying, he brushed it away. Because that's what friends do, they make things seem better than they are.

Chad watched Troy out of the corner of his eye. Troy laughed and tossed a burnt marshmallow at Zeke who jumped back just in time for it to land in the fire. He smiled and pulled his marshmallow off his stick. "Now you're in trouble, Bolton."

He threw the marshmallow quickly and Troy ducked. The marshmallow flew right into Ryan's laughing mouth and he laughed harder upon feeling the sugary treat touch his tongue. He ripped open the bag of marshmallows and tossed a handful, pelting Troy and Zeke. Thus began a long marshmallow fight.

Everything went silent as Troy clutched a marshmallow in his hands. His eyes locked with Chad's and Chad took a big step back. "You wouldn't dare."

"Yes," Troy said. "I would."

He drew his arm back and threw the marshmallow, hitting Chad squarely in the forehead; Ryan sneaked up behind Chad and dumped the remaining marshmallows into his afro. "You messed with the afro! Now it's on!" He launched a fistful of marshmallows at his friends and dove behind a tree.

Chad backed up slowly, hoping to find a way to escape the bombardment of marshmallows. He felt something hit his back and he flipped around to see Ryan poking him with his roasting stick. Chad brandished his like a sword and he looked over to see Zeke and Troy already engrossed in a battle themselves. Troy hit Zeke's stick with such a force that the stick snapped in half. Zeke looked at his stub of a sword and said, "Uh oh."

Denfenseless, he fought back the way he had been used to- the way _boys _were used to- an all out, punching, hitting, kicking war. He jumped onto Troy who dove out of the way just in time. Zeke hit the ground and laughed, knocking Troy to the ground with his feet. Troy collapsed and laughed as his back hit the frozen ground.

They were laughing and having a great time when it got a little out-of-hand. Chad and Ryan had also abandoned their sticks and started to horse around with each other. Zeke and Troy were rolling on the ground, laughing and play-fighting, when Chad fell over them, kicking Troy hard in the side. Troy let out a scream, clutched at his side, and doubled up on the ground, gasping in pain.

The silence that followed was only broken by the crackle of the fire and the whisper of the wind as it sliced through the trees. Troy rocked on the ground, holding his side, and clenching his eyes shut and teeth together. Ryan, Zeke, and Chad stood, no knowing what to do, as Troy stayed doubled-up on the ground. Troy felt like an idiot for breaking their fun time, so he stood up (very painfully) and took a stick. He jabbed it under Ryan's arm and Ryan fell to the ground, his tongue hanging out and his eyes rolled back into his head. The boys laughed.

Chad noticed it, you would've, too, and he knew something was wrong. But now he knew why Troy had lied and said that everything was better: he wanted everyone to be happy. So Chad didn't speak that night about it; he didn't bother to act like he knew.

Because that's what friends did. They made everything seem better than they are.

But Chad knew, if he was a friend, he would try to _make _things better. Not just act.

**Author's Note: Voila. A somewhat obnoxious chapter. One that was very difficult to write. I have to ask now: Sequel or Prequel first? You guys tell me. Thanks! Please review.**


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Make Him Proud

**Author's Note: Well, the results are in and people want the sequel first. I will do that as soon as I'm done. So, on to the chapter! By the way, Denny will play a bigger part in the sequel.**

**Chapter Sixteen: Make Him Proud**

There was a Christmas party for what seemed to be the whole student body of East High held at the football captain's large estate. The music blared through the speakers, pounding in everyone's chests. People danced crazily, their arms and legs flailing. Chattering was screamed across the room and was _just _coherent over the pounding music. Drinks clinked, food was munched, and people had a generally good time. Everyone except one Troy Bolton that was. He felt bad about lying to his friends. He really did.

Chad had told Gabriella what he knew and Gabriella was not happy. Not that Troy had lied, but that Troy was still getting hurt. She stormed up to Troy during the party, dragged him outside behind the house, and gave him a look, hands on hips.

"What?" Troy asked with a laugh.

"You know well _what_," Gabriella snapped. She threw her arms in the air, frustrated. "What are you _thinking_, Troy?"

"That I have no idea what you're talking about," Troy said, rubbing his neck in confusion. His shirt lifted, revealing a sliver of tanned, bruised skin. He pulled it roughly back down and looked at Gabriella, worry lining his face. "Okay, I do. But, Gabi, I can't help it."

"Why not?" Gabriella asked, feeling tears well in her eyes. It was all too much for her to watch Troy get hurt. "What has he done to you, Troy?"

"What do you mean?" Troy asked, hoping it wasn't what he thought she meant. Explaining the beatings? Living it once was enough but re-living every moment was more than he could bear.

"What has he _said _that makes you not want to tell?" She asked, stepping closer to him, her expression and character softening. Troy let out a shaking sigh and sat on the small brick fencing that surrounded the yard behind him.

"Enough," Troy said. Gabriella sat next to him and took his hand, feeling her heart rip in two when he flinched. She tried to look him in the eyes but he just stared at his feet.

"Troy, I'm not going to hurt you," Gabriella said softly.

"I know," Troy said. "But I hurt you."

"What?" Gabriella asked. This was getting ridiculous. He was hiding things, saying weird things- what next? Secret codes?

"I broke up with you!" Troy said. "I felt _so_ bad, Gabi. You don't even know how much."

"Troy, I bet you felt bad, but-" Gabriella began.

"No, Gabi, you don't understand," Troy said. "I couldn't live with myself. I couldn't get your face out of my mind- the way your eyes filled with tears, the sheer horror."

"I couldn't get your face out of my head either, Troy," Gabriella said. "I slapped you for Christ's sake. It was wrong! I deserved you breaking up with me!"

"No! I deserved the beating I got!" Troy shouted and then wished he had never spoken. Gabriella paused in shock and blinked at Troy, who closed his eyes and sighed. He hadn't told anybody about what happened that night.

"What?" She asked incredulously.

"I- kind of, sort of, did something stupid that night," Troy said. He sighed, his resolve to keep his secret gone. "To get in trouble."

"You _purposely_ got in trouble?" Gabriella asked. "_Why_?"

"Because I deserved it," Troy said. "Because I hurt you so badly."

"Y-you," Gabriella stuttered, her mind filling with dread, her stomach turning to a block of lead in her body. "Got yourself b-beaten because of me?"

Troy shrugged and looked away. Gabriella grabbed his arm and pulled him until he turned to face her. She pulled away upon looking him in the eyes. They were so different now. Once sky blue, now a deep navy- it seemed- as they watched horrors, went through horrors that no one would understand.

"Troy, please tell me I'm wrong," Gabriella begged. "Please tell me you didn't do that."

"You're the one who wanted me to be honest," Troy said bitterly. Gabriella shook her head and let go of Troy's arm. She didn't stop shaking her head as she spoke in complete horror.

"You didn't," Gabriella said. "Troy, that's not normal!"

"It is for me," Troy shrugged.

"Then you need to tell someone!" Gabriella said. "I'm begging you, Troy. Tell someone! I hate watching you get hurt. I hate watching you flinch and cower and try to hide secrets. Just please, do this for me. Please tell."

"But I can't tell!" Troy shouted, standing up abruptly.

"And why not, Troy?" Gabriella shouted back. She was angry now at Troy's stupidity. This had gone on far too long. It was time for him to be free. "I mean, why do you do this to yourself?"

Troy looked hurt and then angry. "I do it for you," He said. Gabriella stood silently, her face now aghast. For _her_? He got himself beaten constantly for _her_? "Gabriella, say I tell, okay? Custody goes to my mom. I go to California and never see you again. And my mom… she's such an incompetent parent, Gabi."

"No one is more incompetent than your dad," Gabriella huffed.

"How would you know?" Troy spat. He began to cry, gut wrenching, from the heart, hard, wet sobs. "How would you know _anything _that is going on right now? How would you know what it's like to be _me_? To have to put on a mask everyday, to make myself seem better than I am for the sake of saving a man who doesn't even love me?" Troy turned away from Gabriella. "You guys act like you know what happens and you guys act like this is so easy. It's _not _easy- coming home everyday and getting beaten. Having someone you trusted your whole life, your own father beat you mercilessly for leaving coffee in the pot, or not making your bed. Being told you're worthless and a mistake. You have no idea."

"And you act like it's so easy to be your friends and watch you get hurt everyday," Gabriella said. "See you limp down the halls and cower in fear when we so much as grab your hand. It's not easy either, Troy. We just want what's best for you."

"How do you know what's best for me, Gabi?" Troy asked. "How do you know that, by sending my own father to jail, I'll be better? That, by having to move to my mom's, I'll have a better life? That, living with the grief of being the worst son in the world, I'll feel perfectly fine?" Gabriella opened her mouth but Troy cut her off. "You _don't _know, Gabriella! And that's why this is so hard for you! Because you always know what to do; you always have the right thing to say! But now that you have nothing to say, you jump to conclusions that may or may not be correct!"

"Troy, why are you so mad at me?" Gabriella asked defensively. "I'm trying to help!" The thing that scared Gabriella was that he was right- that she was so bothered because she didn't know what to do so she said what she knew was the simplest conclusion, even if it wasn't the better one.

"Because, I'm tired of being told what I should do," Troy said. "The easier idea isn't always the right one. I mean, have you ever thought of the consequences of telling would be? I would be left homeless, fatherless, and heartless. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"But you can't live with him anymore, Troy!" Gabriella said. "I want you to look me in the eyes and say you're okay with what he's doing."

Troy stepped to her, their faces inches apart. He looked her in the eyes and said, "I can't."

Gabriella pulled back from him and shot him a scowl. She put her hands in his and they stood there silently. The freezing air whipped their faces and clouded the air in front of their mouths. Gabriella's hair flew into her face but she didn't dare let go of Troy's hands. Gabriella shifted slightly before Troy's rigid speaking filled the cold air.

"I can't say I like what he's doing, and I can't say I'm okay with it," Troy said earnestly, looking through glassy eyes. "But I can say that what he's doing- whether I agree with it or not- is a necessary act. That sometimes, what I do is bad enough to get in trouble. But I _can _look you in the eyes and say that no matter what happens, he's my dad. He is my _father_ who has loved and cared for me since I was born. Just because he's chosen an… _odd _way of punishment, doesn't mean that you guys have the right to judge him."

Gabriella nodded, although she didn't even _closely _agree. She took his hand tighter and said, "Come on. People are waiting inside." He nodded and they both walked inside. The music met them in a loud burst and they both clamped their hands to their ears. Suddenly, the sound of feedback sent everyone's hands to their ears. Then, Jason's slurred voice filled the loudspeakers as he made his way through the crowd, tripping over the microphone cord along the way.

"Everyone! This… is my best friend… Troy," Jason said drunkenly, wrapping an arm around Troy's shoulders roughly and breathing beer-stained breath in his face. Troy flinched and tried to pull away but Jason clung tight, like a parasite. "And he… is my best friend. And Troy… he's got… a secret. Yeah. But he's not telling anyone 'cause… he's… secretive. But! I think that everyone in East High… deserves to know what… the highly-esteemed captain of ours… is… being secretive about."

"Jason! Shut up!" Troy shouted, trying to clamp Jason's mouth shut, but stopped, thinking he could hurt Jason. He looked desperately at Gabriella who shrugged, knowing full well that she couldn't do anything about it. Zeke, Chad, and Ryan were slowly pushing through the crowd, trying to get to Jason and Troy but failed miserably as everyone gathered in a tight pack around the emcee for the night.

"See, Troy…" Troy was growing desperate and was searching the room for something to get Jason to be quiet. "Troy isn't perfect! I know you think he is… and that I'm so lowly little loser… on the basketball… team. But I'm not. And he's not. But Troy! He has a secret! And that secret is that his… dad…"

_BAM_!

Jason passed out and brought Troy to the ground with him. They laid in a heap for a moment and Troy scrambled to his feet, letting out a thankful sigh. Everyone stared silently, looking like a deer in headlights at Troy. Troy smoothed the front of his shirt nervously and asked, "What?"

"What's the secret?" Someone in the crowd shouted. Troy scratched his neck nervously. He looked out at the crowd as everyone agreed to the outburst. He shook his head.

"I don't know what he was talking about!" Troy said. "He's drunk, guys. What could he possibly say that makes sense?"

Everyone shrugged and went back to their business of chatting each other up. The music blared again and the feedback droned. The rest of the gang walked over to Troy and stood beside him, shocked into silence. They looked at Jason's sleeping face with dread. Zeke and Chad picked him up and set him (rather carelessly) on the only unoccupied couch.

Ryan and Sharpay, Troy noticed remained missing from the crowd. What he didn't know was that they were outside the house, where Gabriella and Troy stood just minutes before, doing exactly what Troy and Gabriella were doing just minutes before- fighting.

...Ryan...

"Sharpay, you have to tell me what's wrong!" Ryan shouted at his twin. She shook her blonde head and looked away, letting tears drip onto her outfit that she spent so long planning.

"I can't," She whispered, sitting down on the brick wall. Ryan sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. He pulled her closer and they sat that way until Ryan could find words in his mouth.

"You can," Ryan said. "I'm your twin brother and I just want to know what happened to you. I want to know how you got that bruise on your cheek. And who I have to beat up."

"Jack Bolton," Sharpay whispered, mortified. She threw her head into her hands and sobbed. Ryan patted her back, his face stricken with horror. Jack Bolton? He had hurt Sharpay?

"What did he do to you?" Ryan asked protectively, tightening his hold on her back reassuringly. Sharpay shook her head and wouldn't look Ryan in the eyes.

"The other night," She began, sniffling. "Troy wasn't okay! Jack hasn't stopped! And I walked in on it! I walked in on Troy getting beaten!" She sobbed again and Ryan, yet again, tightened his hold. "It was awful, Ryan. I had to stop it! So I tried and then Jack got angry and… he tried to hit me. And then Troy- he… Troy saved me. But he couldn't take it. He _can't _take it. He can't take it anymore, Ryan. We need to tell. We have to."

"Okay," Ryan said soothingly. "We will. Mark my words, we will."

And Ryan was going to stick to what he said, because Jack Bolton was going to pay for what he did. To Sharpay, to Troy… to Ryan's life. Some way, some how, Jack Bolton was going to pay for ruining the only thing that Ryan had left- his friends.

…Troy...

Troy sat down on the couch, shaking. He brought his head into his hands and let out a large sigh. Gabriella and Chad seated themselves on either side of Troy. Chad pat Troy in the back and said, "It's fine, Troy."

With each pat, Troy's face twisted into a grimace and Chad stopped, mid-pat to look at his friend. Troy smiled a grim grin. It wasn't Troy's smile. It was someone who had seen too much, who had been through too much, who was tortured beyond imaginable belief.

Maybe it _was_ Troy's smile.

Troy felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and answered it tiredly. He opened the top and brought it slowly to his ear. "'Lo?" He waited for a second, his eyes widening by the second. Gabriella could hear his dad screaming from the other line and she took Troy's free hand, giving him support for something that wasn't actually happening. Troy shut his phone, slowly, looking into the distance.

"That was my dad," Troy said slowly. Chad snorted.

"We guessed."

"Cassidy's having her baby," Troy said. Kelsi, who was approaching with drinks for everyone dropped two of the sodas that fizzed and squirted all over the flooring. She looked at Troy.

"Now?"

"Yeah," Troy said. "Now. So, um. I'm going to go… to the hospital."

He got up and numbly moved to his car. Gabriella and Chad followed whilst everyone else sat in shock on the couch. Troy dug his car keys out of his pocket and swore as he fumbled to find the key.

"Troy, you want me to help?" Gabriella asked softly, watching as Troy's shaking hands failed to get the keys in the lock. Troy shook his head and finally hit target, opening the car door. Chad looked at Gabriella who shared the same look as he.

"You want some company?" Chad asked quizzically. Troy shook his head and stared at the open car door, his eyes glazed over in fear. Gabriella stepped forward but Chad grabbed her upper arm, making sure she didn't step too close.

"My dad wants me to come alone," He gulped. Gabriella's tears hit their mark and flowed freely from her eyes. She sobbed loudly and broke from Chad's grip. Troy wrapped his arms around her and she sobbed hard into his chest.

"Don't go," She sobbed. "Please don't go."

Troy rocked slightly, holding Gabriella in his arms. Her sobs were muffled against his chest. He rested his chin on her head, shushing her into a quieter submission. She was still crying when he kissed the top of her head and whispered, "I have to, Gabi. I'm sorry."

"Troy, please!" Gabriella screamed through her tears. "Please don't go! I don't want you to get hurt."

Troy lifted Gabriella's chin with his finger and brought her to look into his eyes. She let a few tears fall from her eyes and slid down her cheeks. "I'll be fine," Troy whispered.

"You promise?" Gabriella asked, whispering with a hoarse voice that was raked with tears. Troy nodded solemnly.

"I promise."

He kissed Gabriella's forehead and turned towards Chad who had silent tears running down his face. Troy stepped over to him. Chad gave a watery smiled and said, "Take care of yourself, man."

Troy nodded and they shared a hug, not wanting to let go. Their friendship was strong. It only took one incident to make it stronger. It took this to make it indestructible. Holding his best friend, Chad let himself sob. His shaking body mixed with Troy's until it felt as if they were one person. Troy clutched his friend tighter. Chad had never really cried. He never really found it easy; just a waste of time. But now, watching his best friend of seventeen years, go get a stepbrother, it as almost too much for him to bear.

"Don't let him hurt you, Troy," Chad sobbed. "Don't."

"I won't," Troy whispered, feeling his body shake with the aftershock of his crying. Gabriella had disappeared, he didn't know when. These tears, they weren't shed because of the new baby, as you can probably tell; that'd be ridiculous. Chad was crying for his best friend. For the boy who went home to the monster he called a father, for the one who was getting hurt. The one who masked his pain for the sake of his friends and never uttered a word to keep them safe. The one who was nothing but kind, did nothing but give, but got nothing but a beating for who he was.

But Troy put a hand on Chad's shoulder, gave him a grave look, got in his car, and sped away. Leaving behind the best friend he ever had.

…Troy...

Troy turned into the hospital parking lot, wheels squealing against the asphalt. After parking crookedly in a parking spot, Troy jumped out of his car and slammed the door shut. The sound echoed through the semi-empty lot and traveled around, swirling in Troy's ears. He ran through the doors and up the stairway, not stopping until he reached the correct floor of the maternity ward.

He got directions from a tired nurse and headed into his stepmother's room. She was looking at him with a scowl on her pink face, holding her baby boy protectively. She looked at Jack and said, "He's here, Jackie."

Jack nodded, knowing full well what it was but was being patient considering the hell his new wife had been through. Jack smiled at Troy, putting on a big show. "You want to see your new baby brother?" Troy shot him a look but peered down at the tiny, pink infant. He was sound asleep, his tiny chest moving up and down to a slow, steady beat. Troy smiled.

"Yeah, I'll hold him," Troy said, gently taking his tiny baby brother in his arms. He placed the boy in the crook of his elbow and slightly rocked him. He looked at his dad and Cassidy. "Have you guys chosen a name yet?"

Cassidy smiled and took Jack's hand. "We're naming him Rainbow Sunshine after all."

"Oh," Troy said, feigning happiness. "Wonderful."

He handed Rainbow Sunshine back to his dad and gave a tiny smile. Jack held the baby proudly for a moment and passed him on to Cassidy, who beamed upon recieving her son. She looked at Jack, who placed a hand on her shoulder. Troy shoved his hands into his pockets and turned towards the door.

"Well, I'm going to go get some food," Troy said suddenly. "You want something?"

Both proud parents shook their heads and Troy headed out the door. He sighed, wishing that his dad was as proud of him as he was of tiny Rainbow Sunshine. It wasn't going to happen, he realized, until he was strong. So Troy decided that some way, some how, he was going to become the strong boy his dad wanted him to be. Even if it killed him. Troy wanted to make him proud.

Troy fished his wallet out of his back pocket and grabbed a crumpled dollar out of the leather pouch. He was just about to slid the dollar into the vending machine when he saw two doctors approaching him. He stopped, mid-action, and walked over to them. He interrupted them politely.

"Excuse me," He said. "Are one of you the doctor for Cassidy Bolton?"

The taller of the two nodded his head. His nametag was visible just under his swinging stethoscope" Dr. Bradley. He had black hair, flecked with gray, brown, cheery eyes, and a tight, warm smile. Troy shifted nervously and the doctor gave him a look. "Something wrong, son?"

"Um," Troy said, not looking him in the eyes. At this point, most adult men had always scared him into submission. "No. Nothing. Hey, has Cassidy filled out the birth certificate yet?"

"Not yet," Dr. Bradley said with a smile. "Why do you ask?"

"Um, this is going to sound weird, but can _I _fill it out?" Troy asked, his hands stuffed into his pockets. Dr. Bradley shot him a quizzical look and lifted his clipboard a bit higher to show that he was of higher authority. Troy assumed that's why he did anyway.

"You?" Dr. Bradley asked. "Has either Cassidy or Jack said you could?"

"Well, no," Troy said. Dr. Bradley shook his head but Troy quickly and desperately added, "They want to name him Rainbow Sunshine, Dr. Bradley." The doctor gave Troy a look and cleared his throat. The doctor next to him tried vainly to stifle a laugh.

"Come with me, son," Dr. Bradley said.

...Troy...

Troy finished signing the paper with a smile. He turned to the doctor and handed him the pen. The doctor took it and put it in his front pocket happily. Troy smiled wider and stuffed his hands in pockets, getting ready to go back into his dad and his stepmom's room.

"You won't regret it, Dr. Bradley," Troy said. "Logan Christopher will thank you for it some day."

...Troy...

That night, Troy fell asleep on a chair in the waiting room while his dad and stepmother slept soundly in their private room. He rolled over in his sleep and jolted wide awake at the sound of his ring tone blasting- or so it seemed in the surprisingly empty waiting room- in his ear. He flipped open the cell, not bothering to check who it was and answered.

"'Lo?" He asked groggily. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his free hand and flipped over again so he sat comfortably in the chair. His body went slack and he slipped down, his head now resting on the top of the chair, his neck bent back uncomfortably.

"Troy, it's me, Gabi," Gabriella said through the phone. She didn't sound tired at all, just extremely worried. "You didn't call and I got worried. Where are you?"

"The hospital," Troy yawned, running a tired hand through his hair. He pulled his phone away from his ear as a squeal erupted from the speaker of his phone.

"_What_?" Troy pushed the phone back to his ear slowly and yawned again. Gabriella blathered on and Troy gave a tiny, exhausted smile. Gabriella was just the kind of girl to call him at three a.m. and rant on what was going on. "What happened? Are you okay? What did he do to you?"

Troy could hear her moving around her room, flipping things over and knocking things to the ground. He heard her door creak open and her floorboards groan under her feet as she ran through the hallway in what sounding to be barefeet, the soles of her feet slapping against the polished wood. "I'm just staying over night for Cassidy, Gabi. Don't worry," Troy said.

"Oh." The moving stopped and Gabriella remained momentarily silent. "Oh okay. I just thought-."

Troy cut her off, "Gabi, go back to bed." He hung up, rolled over, and waited for an hour for his sleep to settle in while he awkwardly perched in the uncomfortable chair in the bright waiting room, in a hospital, where he didn't want to be.

He awoke again at ten o' clock, an extremely late morning for him. He was now completely exhausted after falling asleep at one o' clock in the morning and waking up at three in the morning. He found out that Jack was in Cassidy's room, so Troy avoiding going near it at all costs; Cassidy had not yet been released but was coming home the next day with little Logan Christopher. The day was completely uneventful except for Troy reliving the story of changing the name on the birth certificate to anyone who cared enough to listen. It was eight at night when Troy finally plucked up the courage to face his dad.

"Hey, Dad," Troy said cheerily as he walked in the room. "Cassidy. How was your night?"

"How could you?" Cassidy whispered, obviously mortified.

"How could I what?" Troy asked, pausing.

"You stole the birth certificate!" Jack shouted. "You changed our baby's name!"

"I'm sorry," Troy said desperately. "I just couldn't live with the fact that you were going to name him Rainbow Sunshine!"

"Troy," Jack said as calmly as his aggravated voice would allow. "Get to my car. I'll be down in a minute."

Troy didn't need to be told twice. He took off down the hall and headed towards the parking lot only to remember that he had no idea where his father's car was. He stopped on the first level of the parking lot and looked around, confused. With a stroke of pure luck, he came upon his father's car within the first minute of searching and leaned against its side with a sigh.

Minutes after he relaxed against the car and felt himself nodding off to sleep, he was jolted back into awareness by the grating sound of his father's barking voice. "Get in the car, Troy."

"I'm sorry," Troy said, miming innocence. "My dad said not to get into cars with people who might hurt me."

"Troy, get in the car!" Jack barked. Troy sighed, done with his sarcasm for a while and hopped into the front seat, slamming the door behind him. Jack got in the car after and started it up. The car purred into life and they started out of the parking lot silently, Troy wishing dearly that he hadn't made that sarcastic comment.

They drove towards home, not a word spoken between the two. When Jack took an odd turn, Troy cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "Um, Dad, the house is _that _way."

"I know," Jack said, not taking his eyes off of the road ahead of him. The road ahead was dark, the night only pierced by a few dimmed streetlamps. The car jolted to a stop next to a deserted playground. Jack twisted the keys in the ignition and the car stopped short. Troy looked at his dad quizzically.

"Dad, where are we?" He asked, looking out the car window. He looked his dad in the face, his face twisted into a look mixed with fear and confusion. "What are we doing here?"

"Troy," Jack's voice was calm, but shaking as he strained to keep his cool. Troy discreetly brought his hand to the seat belt buckle, slightly pushing the button down. He wasn't a dumb kid; something was wrong. "Why did you fill the name in on the birth certificate? Why would you do something that stupid?"

Troy shrugged, pressing his thumb a bit harder into the buckle. Jack still had his hands poised on the steering wheel, knuckles white with the strength he was holding it. Troy wiggled slightly towards the door.

"You _knew _when you did it, I was going to have to do something, right?" Jack asked, his voice still calm and shaking. He stamped his hand on the steering wheel. "Why are you so _stupid_?"

It was as if everything happened in a spilt second; Jack lunged forward and Troy pressed down on his buckle. Troy's hand flew to the door handle and Jack's body hit Troy with a force. Troy's body flew back and his head slammed into the window with a bang. Jack's fist pommeled into his face, each strike causing Troy to cry with pain. With every cry Troy made, Jack hit harder. Troy's fumbling hand grabbed onto the door handle and with quite a bit of difficulty managed to pull the lever towards himself. With the weight of Troy and Jack ontop of it, the door swung outwards both men spilling out of the car and onto the street.

Jack, not used to the shock of getting hurt during these fights, remained shocked on the ground while Troy immediately pushed himself off the ground and tried to bring himself up. Just before he tried to make his break, Jack's hand clamped around his ankle. Troy felt the warm, strong hand twist his ankle hard and Troy let out a scream before falling to the ground once more.

Troy rolled onto his back, clutching his ankle tightly, his face twisted into a grimace. Jack staggered back onto his feet and walked over Troy who was still holding onto his ankle. "I told you that was stupid, Troy."

But suddenly Jack's words were cut short as Troy lashed out his better leg and nailed Jack in the shins. Jack swore and fell to the ground heavily, smacking his head on the street. Troy jumped up as quickly as he could and headed across the street and into the empty park. Ignoring the pain in his right ankle and the shouts of his father, Troy ran through the grass and towards the opposite street.

His feet carried him for minutes, as far away from his dad as possible. Troy's wandering feet led him right to the doorstep of Gabriella Montez. He knocked on the door rather hesitantly and seconds later, it swung open revealing Gabriella, clad in a pair of green pajamas pants and a yellow tank top. Her hair sat on her head in a flyaway bun and her face looked extremely surprised. Troy's face was dotted with scrapes and scars and a small trickle of blood ran down his cheek.

"I promised you I wouldn't get hurt," Troy said, shifting awkwardly on the spot. He lifted his arms as if to say 'What?' and looked at her. "I tried."

**Author's Note: Well??? Very long chappie. Please review!**


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Except Us

**Author's Note: This is the chapter, where, if you don't feel like reading the other chapters, you should read this one. It's a good review to freshen your mind and has a little view from part of the gang. **

**By the way, at my school, we have four classes before lunch and three after, just in case it confuses you a little bit. **

**The end is near… Sorry!**

**Chapter Seventeen: Except Us**

Gabriella entered the living room, two mugs of hot chocolate in her hands. The steam rose in lazy swirls in the air, the liquid spun in the cup. Gabriella frowned as she handed Troy his mug, and Troy gave her a small thanks before taking a tiny sip. Troy stared gravely into the fire that crackled in the fireplace before he noticed Gabriella staring at him.

"Go ahead and say it, Gabriella," Troy sighed, setting his mug on the coffee table in front of him. Gabriella took a sip of her hot chocolate and looked puzzled.

"Say what?" She asked.

"I don't know," Troy said with a shrug. "Whatever you were going to say."

"It's just," Gabriella began. Troy sighed heavily. "What?"

"I knew you had something to say!" Troy said.

"I'm sorry, but this has to stop!" Gabriella screamed, slamming her mug onto the coffee table. Troy jumped at the noise and looked at Gabriella, alarmed. She had never gotten so worked up over something, at least not in front of him. "You can't keep letting him do this to you!"

"I'm not!" Troy exclaimed, exasperated. "I _escaped_!"

"Not before he twisted you ankle!" Gabriella shouted, throwing her hands in the air. Troy looked down at his foot and tugged his pant leg up a bit.

"How did you know about that?" Troy asked. He was trying, after all, to make it seem like he didn't get hurt; trying not complain. Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"I could see your huge ankle from a mile away and it didn't help you that you limped into my living room!" She said.

"What huge ankle?" Troy asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Troy, come on! Your ankle is about three times its normal size!" She exclaimed.

"Are you calling me fat?" Troy asked in a girly tone. Gabriella swatted his shoulder and Troy cringed, recoiling away. She gave a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry," She said quickly. "I lost control."

"Oh, yeah," Troy said with happy sarcasm. "Because you're so powerful!"

Gabriella stuck her tongue out. Almost immediately her face fell serious and she took Troy's hand. Looking him dead in the eye, she said, "Your mom left. Did she even _know_?"

"…That was random," Troy said after a moment of silence, trying to avoid confrontation of that subject.

"Troy, I'm serious," Gabriella exclaimed. Troy looked her in the eyes and sighed.

"Yeah, she knew," He finally said.

"She _did _know?" Gabriella asked. "Did she ever do anything about it?"

"I told her once," Troy shrugged. Gabriella tried to look him in the eyes.

"And?" Gabriella urged.

"She said I was over-reacting and told my dad how dramatic I was being," Troy finally admitted. Gabriella shook her head and let go of his hand. She slunk away from him and stood by the fireplace, letting the warmth heat up her legs.

"This has gone on way too long, Troy," She said, letting a tear slip down her cheek. Troy remained on the couch and looked up at her sadly.

"So what do you think I should do?" He asked angrily. Gabriella remained silent, weighing the options. "Either way I lose. I either lose my dad and go to California, or I keep getting beaten and stay here with you guys. There's no right thing. Personally, I could deal with choice number two. I could never live with number one. I mean, I guess I could avoid my dad for the rest of my life and make sure he never finds me…"

He was interrupted by a knock on the door. Gabriella and Troy shot each other looks. "You can't be serious," Gabriella said exasperatedly. She walked over to the door and Troy disappeared into the kitchen. The door swung open before Gabriella got there. Jack Bolton was leaning heavily against the doorframe.

"Hello, Miss Montez," He sneered. "Troy needs to come home now."

"He's not here," Gabriella said, using her acting skills to the best of her ability. But Jack, being a very good actor himself, saw through her act and stormed into the house.

"Troy!" He screamed. "Troy, get down here!"

When nothing stirred and there was no answer, Gabriella shrugged and said, "He's not here. If you don't believe me check the _kitchen_." She emphasized the last word and as Jack disappeared into the kitchen, Troy showed up in the dining room. Gabriella pointed up the staircase and Troy went as quickly as his twisted ankle could carry him.

"I heard footsteps!" Jack's voice said from the kitchen. "Where is he?"

Jack traveled up the stairs quickly and minutes later, he appeared again, holding Troy by the collar of his shirt. Troy grimaced as he was dragged down the stairs, when suddenly Jack lost interest of tugging him. He instead pushed him the rest of the way. Troy's feet left the ground and his head replaced them a few steps later. Gabriella gasped and slapped her hand onto her mouth. He tumbled head over heels and crashed onto the landing.

Gabriella hurried over to Troy and looked up at Jack angrily as he walked slowly down the stairs, grinning evilly. He hoisted Troy up by his hair without a word. Troy let out a fresh gasp of pain and stared at Gabriella with silently screaming eyes. Gabriella grabbed his hand tightly and refused to let go. Troy gave her a sad look and said, "Good bye, Gabriella."

She shook her head, loosening her pented up tears as she whispered, "I love you, Troy." Troy gave her a weak smile and whispered back.

"I love you, too."

Jack paused and gave an evil smile. "How sweet," He cooed. "You two are in love!" He looked Gabriella in the eyes inquiringly, his hands still clamped onto Troy. "Tell me, how could you _possibly _love Troy? Such a worthless, weak pansy?"

"He's _not_!" Gabriella screamed, her words echoing in the house. Jack looked taken back by the outburst and clicked his tongue, shaking his head. Gabriella's hands balled up into fists, shaking, as she said, "He's not worthless and he's _not _weak!"

"You don't believe me?" Jack asked, tightening his grip on Troy. Troy winced but didn't make a sound. "Watch." He raised his hand and Troy's eyes widened in fear. He clamped them shut and braced himself.

"_No_!" Gabriella shouted, her quick hands darting out and grabbing Jack's wrist tightly. Jack looked over at Gabriella, his mocking grin faded. Her voice came out cracking and racked with tears, "Please don't."

Jack's hand slowly lowered as he looked deeply into Gabriella's horrified brown eyes. She sluggishly loosened her grip on Jack until it slipped entirely off of his arm. A spilt second later, Jack's hand came up and smacked Troy hard across the face. Troy screamed loudly, his eyes clamped shut. He stumbled as his weak knees gave out, but Jack tugged him back up.

"I told you he was weak," He spat at Gabriella. He then pushed past her, still holding Troy, and walked out of the open front door. Upon arriving to the car, Troy was roughly shoved into the passenger's seat. Gabriella watched from her doorway, tears falling like hot wax down her cheeks.

The second she saw the car zip out of sight, Gabriella ran inside and fumbled numbly around the living room for her phone. As soon as her shaking hands grasped the phone, she dialed a number as fast as she could. After two rings the person answered.

"Chad, it's Gabriella. You have to get Zeke and Ryan and go over to Troy's house _now_."

…Ms. Darbus…

A few days later, a Friday to be exact, Ms. Darbus sat at her desk, watching each of her students as they worked on a project.

Ms. Darbus watched each of her students carefully like she always did. Every year, with every new batch of children, her eyes would be peeled for anything odd or peculiar, or something special. That's why she knew that something was going on with Troy Bolton.

He seemed to jump at his own shadow nowadays. He was always wearing long clothing and never really looked anyone in the eye. That was not the Troy Bolton that entered her classroom three years ago. That Troy Bolton was flamboyant and loud and always ready to have some fun. He was constantly chatting and laughing during class and never seemed to back down when challenged by a teacher. But now, if she scolded him the slightest by saying that he would have to go to detention for being late for class, he looked… terrified.

It was her job as a teacher to report anything that she thought was wrong with her students, and she felt that she definitely wasn't doing her job. She had a _hunch_ really, that was the only reason why she didn't speak out, and if she was wrong, working side-by-side with Jack Bolton would be disastrous.

The bell rang and all the students filed out of the classroom for lunch period. They all smiled and laughed and headed out with their friends, chatting about what they wanted to do that day. Ms. Darbus was only slightly surprised when Ryan Evans approached her desk looking nervous. He would always go to her for little things about drama club or singing practice. Today's topic, however, was a tad bit different.

"Ms. Darbus, can I –uh- talk to you for a minute?" Ryan asked nervously, taking off his hat and wringing it in his hands. Ms. Darbus nodded as the door clicked shut. "I just wanted to –uh- talk to you about… well, it's hard, Ms. Darbus."

"We have some time, Ryan," Ms. Darbus pointed out. "There's no rush. Why don't you pull up a chair?" Ryan nodded and yanked a teacher's stool from the corner. He plopped it on the ground and took a deep breath.

"There's something wrong with Troy," He said shakily. Ms. Darbus nodded and urged him on. "Well, you see, it's his dad. I think… Well, I _know _that Troy's getting… well, abused."

Ryan waited, staring at Ms. Darbus with wide, scared eyes. Ms. Darbus nodded and asked calmly, "How do you know this?"

"I was with him a few nights ago, on Sunday," He said. "Gabriella called us- Chad, Zeke, and I, that is- and told us to go help Troy because he was in trouble. So when I got there, well, you see, Troy was on the ground and I glimpsed Mr. Bolton well… just… kick him over and over…" He paused and put his head in his hands, a tear leaking down his cheek. Ms. Darbus reached out, a tissue in hand, and Ryan ignored it, looking back up and staring at Ms. Darbus, glassy-eyed.

"What did you do?" Ms. Darbus asked, her cruel curiosity getting the best of her. Ryan shook his head and let out a dry sob, wrenching his head into his hands.

"Well, we were looking through the window. Chad wanted to go in but Zeke and I stopped him," Ryan explained. Ms. Darbus nodded, knowing full well that that's exactly what Chad would do. She looked at Ryan with a new eye; she always thought, academically, he was on the duller side, but doing what he and Zeke did was a smart decision. "We all knew how strong Mr. Bolton was so Zeke and I didn't want to risk all of us getting hurt. We know it was selfish but, what could we do? Well, it wasn't selfish of Chad. We literally dragged him away from the window and to his car. He was kicking and screaming the whole time, but again, we couldn't do anything else."

"Except phone the police," Ms. Darbus pointed out. Ryan's face fell and immediately Ms. Darbus felt bad for her outburst. She knew Ryan must've had a good reason.

"Troy knows that he should tell but he refuses," Ryan said. "And he made us not tell. He doesn't want to lose his dad and if his dad does go to jail, he has to go to California with his mom. He doesn't want to leave here. He loves Albuquerque so _much_, Ms. Darbus."

"So, why have you told me?" Ms. Darbus asked, quizzically.

Ryan's face darkened and he stood up. He walked over to the window, and turned his back to Ms. Darbus. His voice came out low and menacingly. "Mr. Bolton hit Sharpay, too. There was an awful bruise on her cheek that she covered with make up for a week. I just… I'm an awful friend."

"Mr. Evans!" Ms. Darbus said loudly. "You're doing the right thing! It was good you came to someone!"

"But Troy asked me not to, Ms. Darbus," Ryan said, shaking his head. "He asked me not to tell on his dad. But I knew that I could trust you to do something because it really has gotten out of hand."

Ms. Darbus sighed and tried to remain calm although her heart was thumping in her chest, her head was reeling, the room spinning. She brought her hand to her head and asked, with her eyes shut (as to not look Ryan in the eyes), "How long has this been going on?"

"I don't know," Ryan said. He sighed. "Way too long. We've only known for about a month now. I mean, before we found out, there were signs and then Chad and Gabriella saw…" He then launched into the stories of Troy's repeated beatings: the night with the bedpost, the belt whipping, the kicking, the punching, the cigarette burning. Everything he knew, he told.

Ms. Darbus looked at Ryan, her mind flying from thought to thought. Her first thought was that this was all a ridiculous lie. The next was that it wasn't, that everything she was dreading was true. She looked up at Ryan.

"You said 'we'," She told him. Ryan nodded his head. "Who else knows?"

"It's just Chad, Gabriella, Zeke, Jason, Kelsi, Taylor, Sharpay, and I," Ryan said quickly, reciting off names.

"Quite a bit of people," Ms. Darbus observed. "Why hasn't anyone out of all of you done something?"

"Troy thinks he's worthless and that he deserves all of this," Ryan explained. "Mr. Bolton even scared Sharpay into not saying anything with _one _slap. So, imagine Troy who was tied to a bedpost. He just feels that it would make him the worst son ever if he sent his dad to jail for something he feels he deserves."

"Why does he think he deserves it?" Ms. Darbus asked, silently shocked that something got Sharpay Evans to shut up, no matter how awful.

"I guess that's the way he's been raised," Ryan shrugged. "He hurt Gabriella-," Ryan began.

"You mean, Troy hit Gabriella?" Ms. Darbus asked, awestruck. Troy was strong and menacing looking, but she never thought that he would go to lengths to hurt someone.

"No," Ryan said quickly. "No, he'd never do that. He just told Gabriella they couldn't go out… to protect her."

"Very nice of him, I guess," Ms. Darbus said. "But, he broke up with Miss Montez. What does that have to do with his… beatings?"

"Well, he thought that since he hurt Gabriella, the only fair thing would be for him to get hurt, too," Ryan said. "That's the only thing that I've heard of that he _tried _to get beaten."

"He _tried _to get beaten?" Ms. Darbus asked, shocked.

"Troy made his dad really mad so that Mr. Bolton would beat him or something," Ryan said. "So Gabriella went over to his house and apparently Mr. B. had belted him or something."

Ms. Darbus didn't speak, shocked into a numb silence. She never exactly _liked _Jack Bolton but she never thought that he would _beat _his son; someone as kind and sweet as Troy. In her years of work with him, that thought never crossed her mind even a small bit… until quite recently.

"Mr. Bolton threatened to break Troy's neck if we told," Ryan said, shaking his head sadly. His body began to shake and he collapsed into the stool before his knees gave out. "We didn't know what to do, Ms. Darbus. We knew Mr. Bolton would do it, so we kept our mouths shut."

"Did anyone else get an idea?" Ms. Darbus asked. "I mean, he changes in the locker rooms, right?"

"He hasn't been changing in the locker rooms anymore," Ryan said, trying to control his shaking limbs. "He would wait until everyone would leave the locker rooms if he dared even to try to shower. I mean, you see how he's been wearing long sleeves and pants everyday. The only way you would possibly expect it is watching him flinch and then he had that panic attack."

"Did Troy ever say _why _his dad was doing this?" Ms. Darbus asked curiously. Ryan stopped for a minute.

"From what Troy says it's because he's… weak and he needs to toughen up," Ryan explained, sadly. "But it also happens because of stupid things that _all _teens do like forgetting to make you bed, or being out a few minutes past curfew."

"Was Mr. Bolton the reason Troy was in the hospital?" Ms. Darbus asked, her stomach turning to lead in anticipation for the answer. Ryan sat silently, his body still shaking.

"Yeah, Gabriella found Troy in his living room, coughing up blood," Ryan said. Ms. Darbus cringed at the thought. "It was internal bleeding. But Troy lied and said that it was someone who broke into his house. We were so _stupid_!" Ryan shouted, punching the desk in frustration. "He told us that since Cassidy came, everything was better!"

"Cassidy?" Ms. Darbus asked, utterly confused.

"Mr. Bolton's new twenty-year-old wife who just had his new son," Ryan said bitterly. "She was eight months pregnant when they got married if that tells you why Mrs. Bolton left."

"Wait, did Mrs. Bolton know anything about the beatings?" Ms. Darbus asked, hoping the answer was 'no', for it would awful to find that Mrs. Bolton left in the middle of all that was happening.

"Troy tried to tell her," Ryan said, remembering what Gabriella told them that Sunday night on the phone. "But she just thought he was over-reacting."

"Over-reacting about getting beaten?" Ms. Darbus asked incredulously. Ryan nodded his head.

"So Mrs. Bolton left for a "Girl's Spa Week" in California," Ryan began. "And never came back home."

Ms. Darbus sat silently in her desk, awestruck. She shook her head. "Did Troy ever _tell _you about this? Or did you just figure it out?"

"Some things, Troy told us," Ryan said. "But some, we had to figure out. I mean, I figured _everything _out when Troy sung this song in the theater one morning. Sharpay walked in and told me about it. So, from the lyrics, I kind of connected what I thought and Troy only confirmed what I thought."

Ms. Darbus, even in her shock, was somewhat impressed that Troy had made up a song. Ryan stood up and nervously used his right hand to grab his left upper arm, trying to get his body to stop shaking. He couldn't help but to give a tiny grin as he realized something: he was telling. Troy was going to be free.

"Well, we think this has been going on for about a year or two," Ryan said, loosening up and feeling more brave.

"A _year or two_?" Ms. Darbus asked.

"Well, he's been able to cover it up," Ryan said. "But now, he can't take it anymore. Mr. Bolton's getting more extreme since Mrs. Bolton left and the bruises have become more visible. Troy can't take it anymore. He's been passing out at basketball games and Mr. Bolton has been making him run seventy suicides each practice…"

"Suicides?" Ms. Darbus asked, not knowing sports lingo.

"Running from one spot in the gym to the next, back to the beginning spot and then further, then back," Ryan explained, remembering when Chad spent almost ten minutes explaining it to him. "So Troy had been doing seventy suicides because he 'forgot' to bring his jersey to practice."

Ms. Darbus shook her head sadly. "This is unbelievable."

"That was Taylor's first instinction," Ryan said despondently. "But she came around after a while. Jason, though, he just can't leave Troy alone anymore. He locked Troy in a closet, he punched him, got him in trouble, and almost told the whole school about Troy's secret."

"Would him telling necessarily be bad?" Ms. Darbus pointed out.

"He was just doing it to hurt Troy," Ryan explained. "Besides, you know how the school would just bombard Troy if they found out- him being popular and all." Ms. Darbus nodded in understanding. "I'm just so scared, Ms. Darbus. I don't know if this is the right thing."

"Mr. Evans, it's fine-," Ms. Darbus tried to speak.

"Can you not tell anyone?" Ryan asked quickly, his fear igniting again.

"Wasn't the whole point of your telling me was so that I would tell the authorities?" Ms. Darbus asked.

"Yeah, but I changed my mind," Ryan said shakily.

"It's my job now, as a teacher, to tell someone, Ryan," Ms. Darbus said.

"But… I lied," Ryan said slowly.

"Ryan, I know you didn't lie," Ms. Darbus said exasperatedly.

"What if Mr. Bolton finds out?" Ryan asked nervously. "What if he breaks Troy's neck? It'd be all my fault. What if Mr. Bolton found out that I told and went after me or Sharpay to get back at me?"

"I'll make sure he has no idea that I know," Ms. Darbus reassured him. Ryan shook his head and pressed on.

"He's going to find out, Ms. Darbus," He said. "What if, before the police get there, he breaks Troy's neck? Don't tell! Please!"

"Mr. Evans, please, be calm," Ms. Darbus said. Ryan stood up, pushing his stool onto the ground in a hurry.

"I-I-I can't do it, Mr. Darbus!" Ryan said. "I don't want to! Please don't tell!"

Ryan began to shake, not like Troy during his panic attack, but his entire body seemed to shake and twitch out of his fear. Ryan shook his head and stood trembling, in the middle of the classroom. Ms. Darbus shot up out of her chair and ushered Ryan to the nearest seat. Ryan collapsed into it heavily and shook uncontrollably.

Ms. Darbus ran out the door, her long scarf flowing behind her. She whipped down the hall and into the cafeteria. She slammed the door open, causing the room to fall silent. "Miss Evans?" She screamed. "Sharpay? Will you please come to my room for a moment?"

She watched, along with the rest of the cafeteria, as Sharpay got up from her seat and walked over, knowing what everything was about. Her face turned into a happy, half-hearted smile as she said, "Hello, Ms. Darbus."

Ms. Darbus guided Sharpay into her classroom where Ryan was still shaking in one of the desks, tears rolling quickly down his cheeks. Sharpay ran over to him and knelt down next to him.

"Ryan," Sharpay soothed quietly. "Ryan, it's okay."

"No, it's not!" Ryan shouted through his tears. "It's all my fault! I shouldn't've told! I should've kept my mouth shut!"

"Ryan, it was time for someone to know," Sharpay pointed out quietly. She placed a hand on Ryan's lower back and rubbed it in small, peaceful circles. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"What if he breaks Troy's neck?" Ryan shouted, releasing a fresh wave of tears. Sharpay shook her head with a small, grim smile.

"Don't worry," She said. "It was an idle threat. He wouldn't actually break Troy's neck."

"He tied him to a bedpost!" Ryan yelled. "He broke his rib! He burned him! He beat him with a belt! What's going to stop him from breaking Troy's neck?"

Sharpay paused, mulling it over. She took Ryan's hand and squeezed it tightly. Ryan sniffled as Sharpay said, "Nothing… except us." Ryan looked up and into her eyes. He nodded and looked over at Ms. Darbus, who was standing in the doorway, watching with a poignant look on her face.

…Troy…

The practice started after fifth period, during free period. The team screamed and shouted their spirit as the basketballs flew as blurred spots past their faces. Suddenly, Troy stepped into the gym, clad in his basketball shoes, gym shorts, and his jersey. Chad and Zeke paused in surprise. Jack looked up and froze, his face filled with anger and rage.

"Troy," Jack yelled. The team stopped, staring at Troy as he entered. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah," Troy said with a smile. He was still far away from the team; no one could actually _really _see him yet. He kept walking and Jack had to stop him by shouting again.

"Alone," He said.

"Whatever you say to me, you can say to my team," Troy pointed out and kept on walking. Jack hurried to meet him, grabbed him by the upper arm and dragged him out of the gym. When they were outside of the doors and into the locker room, Jack let go of Troy and shouted.

"What?" Jack screamed. "You think this is funny?"

"No," Troy said. He paused. "Actually, yeah, a little bit."

"Troy, go change into your tee shirt now," Jack said slowly. Troy shook his head and tried to get around his dad. Jack stepped over so that Troy couldn't leave and Troy sighed.

"They already saw me in my jersey," Troy pointed out. "Wouldn't it be suspicious if I changed into a tee shirt?"

Jack stopped, knowing that what Troy said was true. Troy smiled, knowing that he had won this fight. Jack looked at Troy, disgust lining his face. "Figure out a story," Jack said in a low, menacing tone. "Or you'll be _really _sorry."

"I'm going to be sorry anyway," Troy shrugged. "I think I didn't make my bed. So, you'll get mad at me for that later- might as well have some fun."

"Troy!" Jack dove forward and pinned Troy against a wall of lockers, catching Troy off guard. Troy gulped, now seeing how angry his father was. He expected that his dad would be mad but he thought he didn't really care anymore, until he got this fresh reminder of how much pain he would be in.

"Fine, Dad," He said. Jack's grip loosened and his arms slid off of Troy's. Troy walked away from his dad, his mind working on overdrive to think of a story plausible enough for everyone to believe. He gave a tiny smile, for he figured out a story. Then he ran out onto the court, screaming wildly. "Come on, guys! Are you ready for the game on Saturday?"

The whole team let out a whoop as Troy came out into the center of the court, giving instructions for the next drill. A few people scattered out to grab the random basketballs that had been lying on the court and few stayed and watched him as he did his job as Captain.

"Dude," one player, Bill Morrison said. "What happened to your back?"

"And your ankle?" Another player, Chuckie Klapow asked, referring to the Ace bandage that was wrapped around Troy's right ankle. Troy paused and looked at them angrily, his face blaring the question_ Why'd you have to ask_?

"I was on a run and I twisted my ankle," He said quickly. Everyone nodded; it was believable. "And I ran into the Captain of the Knights the other day and we got in a fight. Now come on. Go start your drill."

After practice, everyone had left the gym except Troy who remained on the far side of the court, practicing free throws. He dribbled the ball a few times in front of his feet and shot, missing the basket by inches. Troy shifted his weight to go grab the ball and then collapsed onto the ground, tears pouring out of his eyes much like water dripping out of a faucet. He clutched his ankle tightly and let out a sob, the pain throbbing in his foot. He stopped as he heard the door click open.

"Troy, whatcha doing?" Jason cooed.

"Go away, Jason," Troy shot, sniffling.

"Aw, does Troy's little ankle hurt?" He asked in a mocking baby voice. Troy shot him a look and stumbled up onto his feet, gingerly laying his weight on his right ankle, then on his left.

"Get lost," Troy spat and turned to leave.

"Your dad's right," Jason said. Troy paused but didn't turn around to look at Jason. "You _are_ weak."

Troy walked forward, limping whenever his right foot hit the ground. Tears leaked down his face, rolling slowly over his cheeks and down his chin until they dripped onto the floor. Jason smiled.

He won.

…Ms. Darbus…

Ms. Darbus sat in the silence of her house. Her cat jumped onto her lap and purred. Absentmindedly, she petted the small animal, staring off into the distance. She remember seeing Troy in class today and put her hand to her heart, remembering how she felt it rip apart when he cringed.

She stood up abruptly in her chair and her cat jumped to the ground, hissing. Ms. Darbus navigated down the halls of her house until she reached the kitchen. She reached out for the phone and held it in her hands as if it was a bomb ready to explode. Quietly, she dialed. On the third ring a voice answered.

"This is Allyson Darbus and I'd like to report a case of child abuse."

**Author's Note: Ahh! Someone told! Are you happy? I hope so. Next chapter is the last chapter –sob-. I'm sad. Well, please review! **


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Set Free

**Author's Note: I am so sad this is the END! I hate to break it to some of you, but my friend CooCoo and I have decided to write the prequel first. Read on my lovely reviewers! Don't you really just want to give Jack a punching bag for Christmas? I do! Oh, and by the way, you are _not _going to like the ending of this. It is unbelievably mad-ifying. We spent more than five hours on this chapter so I really really hope you like it!**

**Chapter Eighteen: Set Free**

Troy entered the house by being thrown face first onto the floor in his entrance hall. Jack loomed above him, kicking him hard in the back. Troy cried out in pain, his face turned into a grimace. "You thought you were _clever_ pulling that, Troy? You thought that was cute?"

"No!" Troy shouted. "I'm tired of all the lies. I don't want to do this anymore. No matter how strong I become, you're never going to stop. I'm never going to be good enough for you. And it's just _sick _that you do this to your own son."

"How dare you!" Jack spat.

"What happens if the police ever find out?" Troy asked, feeling hot tears in his eyes. "What are you going to do?"

"They aren't going to find out!" Jack shouted. He paused. "Why? Did you tell them?"

"No!" Troy shouted, catching himself quickly. He scrambled to his feet to meet his father's eye level. "I didn't, because I'm a _good _son who has begged everyone to keep their mouths shut for so long. I'm tired of being your puppet. I'm not going to lie to them anymore!"

"You're going to do what I _tell _you to do!" Jack shouted angrily. "Or you know what I'll do to you!"

"Actually, you always keep me guessing," Troy said. "I mean, I don't know if you're going to kick me or whip me with a belt or maybe even tie me to a bed post. It's always a surprise."

"Why the hell would you use sarcasm right now, Troy?" Jack spat. Troy shrugged his shoulders.

"Does it matter anymore?" He asked honestly. "I mean, I've figured out in these two years- yes, Dad. Tomorrow is the two year anniversary of these delightful beatings- that no matter I use sarcasm or not, you beat me anyway. I always get the same result."

"Are you _asking _for me to tie you to that bedpost again?" Jack asked.

"I said, 'I always get the same result'," Troy said, miming confusion. "How'd you get that I wanted to be put back on the bedpost?"

Jack pushed Troy to the ground and loosened his belt buckle. Troy braced himself, knowing what was going to come was not going to be good and that he would be lucky to be able to stand by the end of it. Jack slowly slid his belt out of the loops on his pants. He brought the leather back and brought it down quickly, the heavy metal buckle smacking against Troy's stomach. Jack whipped him until his arms grew heavy with their strenuous effort. He tossed the belt to the floor and walked up the stairs, leaving Troy shaking and alone in the front hall.

…Troy…

Troy limped out of his house, his entire body shaking, fresh from the beating. He slid into his car and stuck the keys in the ignition, sighing sadly as he looked up at his house. He pressed his foot to the pedal and cried out in pain, staring at his foot angrily. Finally, he got the car started and out of the driveway, heading on his way to Gabriella's house.

Gabriella was sitting on her front porch, quietly sipping her hot chocolate. She stood up quickly as she saw Troy's car pull into her driveway. Abandoning her drink on a small wooden side-table, Gabriella ran out to the driveway.

"Troy?" She asked, as Troy opened up his car door. Troy turned and looked at her sadly. He gave a grim smile.

"I really should stop with my sarcastic comments," He said quietly. Gabriella hurried over to him, her bare feet freezing on the cold pavement.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Same old, same old," Troy sighed bitterly, shutting his door with a slam. "A precious father-son moment that I'll never forget."

"Troy," Gabriella began. Troy cut her off by raising his hand in the air. They stood silently for a moment, staring into each other's eyes; one pair terrified, one pair despondent.

"I don't want to talk about it," Troy said. "Living it once is bad enough."

Gabriella nodded and again they stood in silence. She hugged herself in the cold. They looked around, their breaths fogging in front of their eyes. "Troy," Gabriella said. "Troy, this has to stop."

"I thought that two years ago," Troy said sadly. "When it started."

"Two years?"

"Tomorrow's the anniversary," He shrugged. Gabriella gave him a look and ushered him inside the house. They sat in the living room quietly and then Gabriella couldn't take the silence.

"I'm sorry, Troy!" She said, her outburst causing him to jump in surprise. "I know you don't want to relive it, but what happened back there? What did you do?"

"I was being a smart aleck and I came to practice in my jersey," Troy said, shaking his head. "Then I smarted off, and he got mad. I mean, I understand. If I was him, I would've been mad."

"If you were him, would you have beaten your son?" Gabriella shouted bitterly. Troy shot her a look filled with venom. He stared at his hands that laid shaking in his lap.

"That's not fair, Gabi," He said. "He's a great father."

"How can you say that?" Gabriella asked, trying desperately to look him in the eyes, but Troy wouldn't look up from his hands. "After all that your dad has done to you, how can you say that he's a good father?"

"He's kept me alive for the past seventeen years. I have to give him that," Troy said with a shrug of his shoulders. Gabriella shook her head sadly and Troy went on. "He's given me food, shelter, clothes, a home. Why be selfish and take it for granted?"

"Um, because he's _beating _you!" Gabriella shouted. "This really needs to stop. Don't you get tired of it?"

"I'm used to it," Troy said. "I mean, I get annoyed a little bit because I make mistakes that all teenagers make, but he's just trying to make me a better kid."

"Troy, it's like he gets satisfaction from hearing you scream," Gabriella said. "He smiles when he watches you writhe in pain. So, when you can't perform in basketball, he gets mad, even though it's his fault."

"Well, it's my fault for being weak!" Troy shouted, throwing Gabriella into a fit of surprised shock. "I need to toughen up! I can't be a pansy for the rest of my life!"

"You aren't weak, Troy!" Gabriella said. "You're the strongest guy I know! Most guys, given the situation you're in, would be screaming and whining and telling everyone in sight! Don't believe your dad; don't give him the satisfaction of letting him get to you!"

"What do you even _care_?" Troy asked. "I'm absolutely worthless!"

"Troy!" Gabriella screamed. "Don't you _ever _say that again! Why are you letting him change you? You're letting your dad make you think that you're something you aren't! Worthless and weak. That's not you, Troy. Why can't you see that?"

"Gabriella, you don't even know what you're talking about!" Troy said. "You don't know everything!"

"God, Troy, you're being so _stupid_!" Gabriella screamed. Troy froze and Gabriella slapped her hands to her mouth. She shook her head as Troy stared away, hurt. "I didn't mean that."

"Of course you did," Troy said bitterly. "Or you wouldn't have said it."

"Troy, please!" Gabriella said. Troy stood up abruptly and walked out the front door. Gabriella followed, shivering as the cold air slapped her in the face.

"Where are you going?" She asked, letting tears slip down her cheeks; she felt so _awful _now that she said something so mean when Troy was in such a delicate state.

Troy didn't look at her as he walked to his car. "Going to do something stupid, considering that's all I'm good at."

"Troy, I didn't mean that!" Gabriella said once again. Troy shook his head and stood in front of his open car door.

"Save it, Gabi," He said acidly. He got in the car, slammed the door shut, and drove down the street, leaving Gabriella, shivering and crying behind him. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, wiping tears off her cheeks. She dialed Chad's number and the second he answered she said, "I think Troy's about to do something really stupid. Get the guys and meet me over at Troy's."

…Troy…

Troy slammed open his front door and slammed it shut again. Cassidy popped out from the kitchen and screamed, "Roy! What do you think you're doing? Logan is asleep!"

"Cassidy, leave me alone," Troy said, throwing himself heavily on the couch, not even bothering to correct Cassidy for she had gotten his name wrong once again. Cassidy walked into the living room and stood behind the couch, a frown turning on her lips.

"You can't speak to me that way," Cassidy sneered.

"I can and I did," Troy said, not looking her in the eyes. He stared into the empty fireplace, his mind flying to the recent events, his eyes flashing in pain. Cassidy smacked Troy on the back of the head and Troy flipped around, screaming, "What was that for?"

Cassidy smacked him over the head once more. "Stop screaming!" She screamed. "Logan is sleeping!" Troy shot her a look and turned away from her. "You will learn to respect me!" Cassidy went on. "Jackie said this was the way that got to you the best."

"You mean, you know?" Troy asked, incredulously, flipping completely around to look at her. Cassidy scoffed.

"Duh!" She said. "Of course I know! I'm not stupid."

"I beg to differ," Troy mumbled.

"What was that?" Cassidy asked. Troy didn't answer and Cassidy smacked him once more. Troy cringed and Cassidy gave a satisfied smile. Jackie was right; this was affective. It gave her a rush to know that Troy was finally going to respect her some more. With her short attention span, she asked, "So, where were you?"

"I was at a friend's house," Troy said sullenly.

"Who's?" Cassidy squealed. "Was it your girlfriend's?"

"Back off, Cassidy," Troy snapped.

"What?" Cassidy asked. "Did you two get in a fight?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Troy said glumly.

"What was it about?" Cassidy asked. "Kiss another girl?" She said, sounding rather knowingly.

"No!" Troy shouted. Cassidy looked confused as she tried to figure out what happened between Troy and Gabriella.

"Did she find out you're secretly in love with me?" Cassidy asked, laying a hand on his hand. "It's okay to admit it; everyone is."

"How conceited are you?" Troy asked incredulously. "I don't even think my dad loves you. And he's married to you!" Cassidy's jaw dropped in anger, rage boiling in her chest. "If it weren't for Logan," Troy went on. "I don't even think you guys would be married."

Cassidy looked taken back and stepped away from Troy as if he was a ticking bomb. She turned to the staircase and began to scream.

"Ow, Troy, what are you doing!?"

Troy looked utterly confused as he stared at Cassidy from across the room. "Cassidy, what the hell are you talking about? I'm all the way over here!"

Cassidy grinned in a positively alarming mirror of Jack's trademark evil smile as she screamed, "Please, I'm just a girl! Stop hitting me! Jackie, save me from your crazy waste of a son!"

Troy really didn't feel like fighting his dad so he shot up from his spot on the couch and ran over, clasping a firm but gentle hand over her mouth whispering, "Please shut up!"

Jack thundered up the stairs from the basement, his face twisted into a look of pure hatred. His eyes widened upon seeing his wife's mouth clamped shut by his son's hand. Troy rolled his eyes in anger at himself.

"Oh, _come on_!" He said more to himself than he did to his dad and Cassidy. He let go of Cassidy and took off up the steps and towards his room, regretting his decision the minute that he stepped onto the first stair. He had just cornered himself in his own house and there was no turning back now. Jack was in close pursuit behind him, Cassidy smugly grinning behind them all. She gave a huff and sat on the couch, turning on her favorite movie, Material Girls, the loudest the television would go, drowning out the blood-curdling emitting from Troy's mouth for the second time that night.

…Chad…

"Okay, guys, with seven of us, we can definitely take Mr. Bolton. There is no way he would try to hurt us with everyone there," Chad said, as calmly as he could. Ryan and Sharpay shot each other a look. _Plus a few policemen,_ Ryan couldn't help but think.

They were standing on the side of Troy's house, hidden in the shadows of the night. The gang was all grouped together in a tight bunch, getting ready for what was sure to be a long, suspenseful night. They heard Cassidy make her way out the front door, humming a happy tune to Logan who was sitting on her hip, bouncing happily. They listened as she walked to her car, opened the door, loaded her baby in, and sped off.

"Kels, Gabi, Shar, Tay, as much as I love you all, I would hate for you to get hurt," Chad went on. "We'll go first. If you hear any screaming, don't come in. Just go get the police."

All the girls nodded hesitantly and Zeke, Chad, and Ryan exchanged glances. They gave each other a grave nod and headed towards Troy's front door. Chad pushed it open and looked around the eerily silent house. "Chad, no one's here," Zeke said.

Chad raised a hand to silence his friend and strained his ears to listen. He heard a dull _thump! _come from upstairs. They all raced up the staircase, their feet make as little sound as possible on the wooden steps. A gut-wrenching scream emitted from Jack's bedroom. Chad led the way, his friends in pursuit. They stopped silently in front of the door.

The girls made their way into the house and up the stairs quietly, as according to the plan. The boys went in first and, if all was well, they would follow shortly after. They stopped at the end of the hallway and listened, for in the silent house, even their shallow breathing filled the halls. Jack's voice growled from behind the door.

"You think _before _was bad, Troy?" the voice asked. "Well, trust me, by the end of this, you'll be wishing that I was as nice as before."

Zeke turned around and ushered the scared girls down the stairs but not before they heard:

"Troy, you're such a stupid, worthless little _bastard_! Why are you so stupid?" Jack said as he gave yet another sharp kick to Troy's chest. Gabriella let out a dry sob as a horrible wave of guilt hit her as she and the other girls were led down the stairs. Zeke turned back around as they reached the bottom stair and returned to his two friends.

Unfortunately, Jack heard this and stopped kicking Troy immediately. Suddenly Chad was caught off guard as the door burst open, slamming into his chest and throwing him momentarily onto the ground. Jack's towering figure loomed over Ryan and Zeke, unaware of Chad, whose figure was blocked by shadows cast by the open door. As he advanced upon them Chad crept behind him and punched Jack squarely in the back of the head. Jack spun around, letting out a howl of pain and anger as he instead moved toward Chad.

Out of nowhere, Troy shot out of the room laying a second punch to his father's head as he growled, "Leave them alone!"

Jack, quite aware that he was outnumbered, tried to run. Zeke, Chad, Ryan, and Troy caught up quickly each thinking of the girls that stayed right outside of the front door. Jack, sensing that he was stuck, grabbed onto Troy. Troy wiggled to get free of his father's hands but with no prevail. Chad, Zeke, and Ryan circled the pair. Zeke jumped forward and Jack's leg lashed out, kicking him hard in the knees. Zeke, caught off guard, fell backwards down the stairs and hit the ground at the bottom, unconscious.

Troy let out a cry and jabbed his dad hard in the rib cage with his elbow. Jack howled and his hands flew to Troy's neck as fast as lightning. Ryan and Chad lunged forward instinctively but paused quickly as Mr. Bolton snarled, "You take one step, I'll break his neck. I swear I will."

…Sharpay…

The girls were standing outside the front door, huddling together in the cold, all wondering what was happening to the boys inside. You couldn't tell who was the most worried. Everyone's boyfriends were stuck inside a house with an extremely abusive man. Why wouldn't they be scared?

In the midst of all that was going on, Kelsi and Ryan had gotten together, but kept their relationship quiet for the time being. They felt that now would be an inappropriate time for everyone to be happy about their new relationship when they should be focusing on how to help Troy.

Sharpay looked through the window after hearing a familiar voice scream and out of nowhere, she saw Zeke's body tumble down the stairs and hit the floor. Zeke didn't move and she let out a scream. "That was Zeke!" The girls rushed to the window. "What if he broke his neck and he's dead? We have to go get him!" She dove towards the door but Taylor grabbed her hand, pulling her back.

"Sharpay, we can't go in there," Taylor said. "You know that. If Mr. Bolton shows up then we'll be in so much trouble. We just need to wait for the police to show up." Sharpay nodded and looked dismally through the window, watching as Zeke's chest rose and fell. She let out a sigh of relief. He was alive. But what was going on with Chad, Ryan, and Troy… she had no idea.

…Chad…

Chad and Ryan shot each other looks and shot one to Troy. Troy's face looked oddly pale, his eyes wide and filled with terror. Chad took a shaking step and said slowly, "Mr. Bolton, please."

"Chad, don't move," Ryan said, staring directly at Troy. Jack's grip tightened and Troy let out a gasp, his hands flying to his neck, trying to rip his dad's hands off him.

"Leave," Jack said menacingly. "Now."

Ryan and Chad looked at each other, unsure of what to do. They didn't want to leave Troy but they didn't want him dead either. Ryan looked over at Chad, defeated. "Come on, Chad."

"No!" Chad shouted, tears streaming down his face. Ryan grabbed Chad before Chad lunged forward towards Mr. Bolton. "Ryan, we can't leave him! We can't leave him here!"

"Chad!" Ryan shouted, using all of his strength to hold Chad back. Chad shook his head and Mr. Bolton smiled, knowing he had won this fight.

"If you want," Jack sneered. "I could break his neck now."

Chad shook his head and Troy's face paled-if possible- even more. Ryan slowly pulled Chad backwards, feeling his way down the staircase with his feet. Chad was sobbing and screaming as he felt his feet hit the wooden stair. "Ryan! What are you doing?"

"Saving our friend!" Ryan said, tears now spilling down his own face. "Come on, Chad! Please!" He pulled his face close to Chad's ear and whispered, "The police will be here soon."

"He could break Troy's neck before that!" Chad screamed, he flailed around wildly but Ryan's grip around Chad's waist held. "Once we leave, what's to stop him?"

"Leave now, Chad," Jack said. "If you don't leave, I will break it. If you do, I'll leave him alone."

"You liar!" Chad shouted, struggling to jump at Jack from Ryan's hold.

"I'll kick him a bit more," Jack shrugged. "But after I'll leave him alone," He looked at Troy, an evil smile on his face. "For now."

Chad sobbed and shook his head again. He turned to Ryan, screaming, "Ryan, let go of me!"

"Chad, I can't," Ryan said, sobbing. "I can't let you do that."

"Chad, I'm going to give you one more chance," Jack sneered evilly. "I'll count to three and if you aren't gone by then, I'll snap Troy's neck." He tightened his grip as Troy struggled around.

"One…"

"Chad, go!" Troy yelled in a raspy, strained voice.

"Two…"

"I'll be fine!"

"Three!"

Troy screamed.

…Gabriella…

Gabriella stood, holding Taylor tightly, knowing with a fear so real, so terrible, that that was Troy's voice erupting from inside the house. She dashed to the window, momentarily forgetting her best friend. "Please don't tell me," She muttered, peering inside, Sharpay still looking desperately at Zeke. Gabriella looked around the living room.

"Where is he?" Gabriella asked, looking horrified. "Why can't I see him?" Sharpay's voice cracked as she spoke, tears falling from her eyes.

"You should be thankful you don't see him!" She snapped, referring to Zeke as he remained in the position he had been for the last few minutes.

"You should be thankful that it's not your boyfriend with an abusive father!" Gabriella snapped back. Both girls were irritable and angry and scared to death. Simple things would set them over the edge.

"Guys!" Kelsi said, separating the two. "This is not the time to be fighting!"

Sharpay and Gabriella looked at each other, knowing it was true. Sharpay scooted over, letting Gabriella have a better view through the window, as they all waited quietly for the police to arrive.

…Chad…

Chad gave one last lunge towards Jack, this time Ryan letting go. Jack hit the floor and let go of Troy. Chad's fist pummeled into Jack and with each punch, his force increased until Jack was the one screaming in pain. As sick as it sounds, each cry made Chad happier. This man, who caused his friend so much pain, was getting what he deserved.

Ryan, knowing that Chad and Troy could hold their own, ran down the stairs, jumping about three-quarters of them, and went to aid Zeke. Just as Ryan disappeared down the staircase, Troy scrambled off the floor and jumped into the brawl. After some awful stroke of unluckiness, Jack somehow gained dominance over the fight.

Jack thrust Chad off him and Chad stumbled down towards the staircase. He hit the staircase, his hands flailing for banister. Troy jumped up and lurched forward to grab his friend when Jack's hand grabbed onto his ankle, causing a blinding pain to shoot up his leg. He let out a cry and collapsed face down onto the ground.

Jack got up and roughly pulled Troy up by his shirt. "Chad!" Troy cried, sobbing. Chad heard Troy's urgency and tried vainly to get himself to stop. The next thing Chad heard was the slam of a door and Troy's screaming, sounding more distant than before. Chad's hand finally reached the banister and he stopped himself.

He sprinted up the stairs and towards his friend's desperate screaming, Ryan hot on his heels. Once they arrived at the top of the stairs another scream signaled to them where Troy was. They rushed to the bathroom door where the screams came from. Ryan grabbed the doorknob and tugged at it without prevail. Chad banged his fists on the door screaming, "Let him go!"

Ryan banged along with Chad, wondering, horrified, if the police were ever going to show up. They heard a hoarse scream and a sickening thump emit from behind the door. Chad banged the door harder. "Please!" He cried. His banging slowed and he turned his back to the door, throwing himself against it. He slid down the door slowly. "Let him go."

…Troy…

"Dad, stop!" Troy screamed, tears pouring down his cheeks. Jack kicked him mercilessly, his face twisted in anger. Troy couldn't even recognize the man that he used to call his father, the man who hugged him, and held him, and helped him when he was sad. This was not his dad.

Troy felt the will to fight back leave his body; one beating was all he could take but this was the second beating he received that day. It was much more than is body could stand. He felt his body go limp and his father's foot embedded into his stomach in a monotonous drone, until Troy couldn't even feel anymore.

"Troy, the police are outside!" Ryan's voice came through the door. Jack paused and looked at Troy, his face filled with more anger than it had ever held before. Troy pushed himself as far as his weak limbs could until he felt his back hit the wall. He staggered onto his feet, pressing himself against the wall as if, if he tried hard enough, he would melt into it.

"Troy!" Jack roared. He dove forward and Troy screamed as Jack's hands clamped once more around his neck and shook him wildly. Troy felt all the air leave his body as he struggled to even let a breath escape his mouth. He gasped and used his shaking hands to grab at Jack's hands. His life flashed in front of his eyes:

His dad teaching him to ride a bike.

He and Chad playing in their first basketball game.

His father and him down at a lake, fishing off a dock.

Him winning the championship and he and his father sharing an exuberant hug.

Gabriella and he's first kiss.

His father and him saying good bye to his mother as she left for California.

His father hitting him for the time.

His father kicking him as he was tied to a bed post.

His father burning him.

His father drowning him.

His father belting him.

His father looking at him happily as he held Logan Christopher in his hands.

The flashbacks got more and more recent climbing up from after Logan Christopher's birth to a few minutes ago when his father had his hands clamped around his neck, Chad screaming, Troy crying, Jack smiling- until the flashback jumped to a time so long ago, Troy almost forgot about it.

Troy didn't even remember where they were until he realized that it was the abandoned park that he and his father had brawled at just days before. The city had set up a new swing set there. The five year old Troy was beside himself in glee. He jumped on a brand new red swing and pumped his legs until he was swinging back and forth in a steady, quick rhythm.

"Be careful!" The younger Jack warned with a laugh as Troy recklessly swung his legs around. Determined to impress his father, Troy let go of the swing and waved his hands wildly in the air.

"Daddy, look!" He shouted, a grin plastered on his face. "Look at me! No hands!"

Jack nodded and smiled saying, "That's good, Troy! Hang on!"

But his advice had come too late, for Troy had slipped off his swing and landed heavily in the grass. Jack rushed over from his spot on the park bench and hurried to his son. He grabbed Troy in his arms and asked, "Are you okay?"

Troy sniffled, wiping his eyes. "I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked, wiping a tear off of Troy's face. Troy nodded and hugged his dad tightly, crying into his chest. "You're so _strong, _Troy!" Jack exclaimed. The pink-faced Troy looked up from his dad's chest and into Jack's happy eyes. "I'm so proud of you!"

Troy gave his father a watery smile and said, sniffling, "I love you, Daddy."

Jack and Troy hugged tightly for a moment. Jack kissed the top of Troy's head and said, "I love you, too, Troy."

Troy was wrenched back into the present as Jack's hands slipped from his neck. He collapsed heavily onto the ground and looked up wearily as two policemen jumped into the room, the door in splinters on the ground.

"Jack Bolton, you are under arrest on the charges of child abuse!" One officer said. Both men walked towards Jack, one grabbing Jack's arms, the other clamping his wrists in handcuffs. One man led Jack out of the bathroom and the other helped Troy off the ground. Troy gave him a tiny thanks, deeply surprised that he found his voice.

He was led in a silent daze into the hallway where all of his friends, minus Zeke who was currently being taken care of in the living room, stood waiting for him. Gabriella dove forward and pulled Troy into an affectionate hug, sobbing. Troy wrapped his arms around her, shocked into silence.

"Thank God you're okay!" Gabriella sobbed into his chest. Troy nodded, not being able to form words. "Troy, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said you were stupid. It's not true. The moment you left, I called everyone but it was Ryan who told the police."

Once again, he nodded and felt his heart crumble. He let out a dry sob, his entire body shaking. Troy broke down sobbing and buried his face into Gabriella's neck. She hugged him tighter as his shoulders shook and his body lurched with each sob. He looked, glassy-eyed, to see his father glaring at him with a hatred so pure and so strong that he broke off sobbing harder than before, tears rapidly spilling down his face and onto Gabriella's shirt.

"Umm… can I talk to my dad alone for a minute?" Troy asked once his crying subsided. Everyone glanced around nervously. The police officers froze and Troy urged on. "Please. Just let me say good bye."

The officers nodded and brought the struggling Jack towards Troy. Troy shook his head upon looking at his dad, his heart tearing as he watched his father being handled like a common criminal.

"I can't look at him like this," He said. "Please. Just for right now, take off the cuffs. Let me talk to him alone?"

The officers, obviously overcome with remorse for Troy, took off the handcuffs. Jack wrung his wrists with his hands and looked up at Troy.

Everyone but the police filed down the hallway slowly, disappearing one-by-one down the staircase, Gabriella in the back. Troy grabbed her hand and pulled her back slightly, whispering, "I'm sorry."

Gabriella shook her head. "It's not your fault. You didn't do anything."

He slowly loosened his grasp on her hand and she lightly pulled from him, disappearing down the hallway. Troy stared where Gabriella stood moments before and whispered, "Not yet."

One of the policemen turned to Troy. "We'll be standing guard on the top of the stairs in case he tries anything. If you need us, say something. We'll be there within seconds."

Troy nodded. He walked into Jack's bedroom, Jack in the lead. He slowly shut the door behind him. Jack threw himself on the bed, defeated. He looked up at Troy with a tiny trace of remorse on his face. Troy turned to his dad.

"I'm sorry, Troy," Jack said. Troy stopped, thinking that he was hallucinating. Jack shook his head. "I shouldn't have been so harsh on you."

"You say that now," Troy said bitterly. "But you don't really mean it."

"I do," Jack said earnestly. Deep down, he meant what he had said to Troy but also, deeper down he knew that what he had done was unforgivable.

"Go, Dad," Troy said, turning away from his dad's face.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Go, hurry," Troy said, tears dripping down his cheeks. "Climb out the window, run, and don't ever come back."

Jack stood up and walked over to his son. He hugged him tightly and whispered in his ear, "I don't deserve it."

"Go!" Troy urgently whispered. His dad nodded, but he looked hesitantly at Troy once again. "What are you waiting for?"

"Troy, you'll be an accomplice," Jack said bluntly.

"Then I'll be an accomplice," Troy said acidly. "Just hurry up and go."

"I can't let that happen," Jack said, shaking his head. "Not after all this."

"Knock me out," Troy said quickly. "The police will think you knocked me out so you could escape." Jack looked extremely reluctant, now that he was being asked to do what he had done too many times to count. "What's one more time?" Troy asked.

Jack swung out and punched Troy hard in the side of his head. In his weak state, Troy collapsed onto the ground, unconscious immediately. Jack whispered once more, "I'm sorry," before cracking open the window as wide as it would go.

He slipped through it easily and stood on the roof for a moment. He looked up at his neighborhood, lights blinking in his eyes as tears swarmed in them. He scrambled down the lattes quickly and ran down his darkened street, running away from everything he had ever known for the last seventeen years.

Jack Bolton was set free. He was set free by the one person he had kept imprisoned for the past two years.

He was set free by his son.

**The End**

**Author's Note: If you weren't crying during this chapter then you are heartless! Kidding. My friend CooCoo and I were crying as we wrote it though. I'd like to thank you all for reviewing my story. I'm very sad to see this story go, but you will see me again with the prequel and sequel. **

**Do you want to kill me now? Probably. Please review on thoughts of this chapter! It's greatly appreciated. **

**Oh my God. It's over. Why? IT'S OVER!!**


	20. LITTLE MISS SARCASM IS BACK?

SO, EVERYONE!

After one of the world's longest breaks, .sarcasm is coming back.

WHAT!?! I know. But she wants to remake her old story, The Cry for Help, because she is really, _really _not happy about the old one.

I know people will say, "Oh my gosh, it was good. What're you talking about?" It's not to sound conceited, really, but from the five people I've told, they've all said something along those lines. Honestly, I believe it could be much, much better and much more believable. At the time, I was just dripping with drama, and I wanted to throw it into a story.

Now I'm in high school, and I'm practically oozing drama out of my pores, but I'm smarter about it. I've already started rewriting. As a warning, most of the beginning of the story will not be altered, so it will feel like you're reading the same thing over again. You aren't. I've made little edits in every chapter so far and deleted a ton of the chapters and made new ones. I'm actually almost done with my remake, and so far I like it much more, and I know the ending. Trust me. It's so twisty that I can't believe I came up with it? I'll keep the old version up for old time's sake. I like the memorabilia of one of the most melodramatic stories I've ever written, actually, so I'll keep it, but I'll post the new story under the same title, just a different story. Does that make sense to everyone?

So I'm happy to be back on fanfiction after such a long time, and I can't wait to get my first chapter up again. It will be in about ten minutes after I've posted this, so keep an eye out!

Thanks so much, everyone!

.sarcasm


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